Star Wars: Combat Evolved
by Shotgunchief
Summary: The remainders of Delta Squad have been in hiding ever since the Clone Wars ended. But, nineteen years later, they're thrust into a new war and will need the help of some old friends. Sequel to Halo: Republic Commando.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

It was dark aboard the bridge of the Rebellion Frigate _Yenteron_ as it appeared from its jump through Hyperspace. It had been a random jump, trying to lead the Empire in the wrong direction. The crew had been trying to make their way back to the Rebel base located on Yavin 4. The Empire had intercepted them and had tried to follow them, but by making the random jump they had, hopefully, lost them.

"What's our status?" asked the captain of the ship, Brel Ternen.

"We're good to go, sir," replied a lieutenant on the bridge. "Luckily, they wanted to follow us, not kill us." Brel nodded in reply and looked outside the cockpit window. It had been too close of a call; had the Empire been intent on killing them they would not be here right now.

"Sir?" asked an Ensign, looking at Brel. "What's our next destination?" Brel thought about their options. It would be safe to wait here and make sure that the Empire had not followed them, but it would waste too much time. They had information of a Star Destroyer that was after the _Tantive IV_, intent on capturing. Aboard the _Tantive IV_ were the plans to the Empire's deadly weapon, the Death Star. If they left now, they could make it back to base and warn Captain Antilles, the captain of _Tantive IV_, of the danger. But that risked leading the Empire straight back to their base, and blowing the entire operation. Brel sighed and pinched his nose; being a captain was never easy.

"Captain." He turned to look at the lieutenant that had spoken earlier, "you need to see this." Brel walked towards the back of the lieutenant's chair and looked over his shoulder at the view screen.

"What is that?" he breathed, staring in amazement at the image shown on the monitor.

It was a planet; or was it? It was in the shape of a ring, floating in the middle of space. On the inside, there were signs of vegetation and water, but the outside showed metal. It was definitely man-made, but the question was, who made it?

"Capture some images of this structure," Brel ordered. "This thing may come in handy, whatever it is. After that, set a course for Yavin 4."

* * *

**Author's Note**: This is a taste of the sequel and what it's going to be like. Unfortunately, swimming is starting soon so I won't be able to work on the story much in the next few months. I wanted to post this so you guys can see, partly, where the story will take place. I'm sorry, but don't expect Ch. 1 for a while. And the chapters will be longer, don't worry.

If you have not read Halo: Republic Commando yet, I highly recommend you do before you read this story.


	2. The Old and the New

**The Old and the New**

A man with darkly tanned skin and short, black hair walked down the corridor of the CR90 corvette _Tantive IV_. Down the right side of his face there was a blistered scar almost as if he had been burned. Over the years since he had received it the scar had faded. As the man walked, he was so lost in thought that he bumped into another person.

"Sorry, I didn't-"

"C'mon, Boss, get with it!" said the man he had run into, Tony Adams. He stood a couple of inches shorter than Boss with buzzed brown hair and eyes. Compared to Boss, his skin had a pale look. He smiled; Adams was a unique person. It wasn't because of any special abilities he possessed or "powers". It was because he wasn't from this universe; he was in fact from a universe nowhere near here.

Boss himself was unique. He was a clone raised in the labs of Kamino and had fought in the Clone Wars. Being a commando, he had been the sergeant of a squad titled Delta. The four man team had fought to preserve the Republic and defeat the Separatists. Nineteen years later, he was taken in by Senator Bail Organa and was the bodyguard of his daughter, Leia. That was the only reason he and Adams were on the ship in the first place, to protect the princess from harm.

The _Tantive IV_ was believed to be on a diplomatic mission for the Imperial Senate. In reality, they had very important cargo on the ship. The Death Star was about to become operational: the battle station contained a laser capable of destroying an entire planet in one blast. In a last effort to stop the Imperials from using it, they obtained the plans and layouts of the weapon. Hoping to find a way to exploit a weakness, they were going to pick up Obi-wan Kenobi on Tatooine and then deliver the plans to Alderaan, Leia's home planet.

"Just thinking to myself," replied Boss. Adams crossed his arms and lifted an eyebrow. Even though Adams was thirty-seven years old, for some strange reason he looked like he was in his late twenties, and acted even younger.

"Thinking about being in action again, aren't you?" asked Adams, uncrossing his arms and letting them fall to his sides.

Boss shrugged, "It feels good to know that I'll be able to use a blaster after all this time."

Adams grinned, "I can't wait to use one of those in a fight. It'll be a lot different than using a battle rifle." Boss instantly thought of the somewhat primitive rifle with its three-round bursts. He then started to remember the war he and the rest of his squad had fought in.

The Human-Covenant war.

Boss thought back to the day his squad had met the Chief, Master Chief Spartan-117, over nineteen years ago. The Chief had come through a portal that had transported him to the commando's universe. It was then Delta had agreed to help the Chief and returned with him back to his universe. But, they had been followed by the cyborg named General Grievous, who had been a general of the Separatists' droid army. Grievous had then allied with the Covenant leader, the Prophet of Truth. The Covenant were a group of alien races formed together under the religion of the Forerunners, and believed it was their duty to wipe out the human race.

Delta Squad had been joined by many allies from their own universe: Omega Squad, Commander Gett, and ARC Trooper Ordo of the Clone Army, Sergeant Kal Skirata, and the Jedi Obi-wan Kenobi, Etain Tur-Mukan and Bardan Jusik. With the return of the Chief's Spartan comrades Kelly, Fred, Will and Linda the odds turned against the Covenant. Then, with what seemed an unbelievable stroke of luck, the Elites, Grunts, and Hunters seceded from the Covenant and allied with the humans.

A massive battle had then begun; Humans and the former Covenant members against the droid army and the Covenant Loyalists for control of a special structure called the Ark. They had won, but lost the human's home planet as well as many teammates including Jusik and Boss's squad mate, Fixer. They had then gone their separate ways, returning to their own universe. Adams, a former Marine in the United Nations Space Command, had refused to stay and left with Boss and the others.

"Boss!" He turned around to see Leia walking quickly towards him.

"What's wrong?" Boss asked, seeing the worried look on her face.

"There's a Star Destroyer that's just come out of hyperspace behind us," she said. "We think it may be the _Devastator_." Boss stared at her in shock; Darth Vader had been the last known commander of that ship. The last time he had been up against the Sith lord he had impaled Boss through the shoulder with his lightsaber and nearly killed the commando.

She didn't know that though, she didn't know anything about his history. Leia was told that Boss had been in the service and that he had been hired by her father along with Adams to protect her.

"How close?" Boss asked.

"They'll be within firing range in ten minutes."

"_Fierfek_," said Boss. "We've got to get our weapons now; I can't fight with this blaster pistol. Leia, you need to return to your room and wait for us."

"I can't," she replied. "I need to meet with Captain Antilles; he needs to tell me something."

"Alright, go there and wait for us before you do anything. Adams, come on." He took off down the hallway toward the armory. Once they arrived, he jammed his fist on the open button and the door instantly slid into the wall, allowing them to enter. When he was inside, Boss saw that there was no one here. Good, they could get in and out quickly.

"You got any shotguns in here?" asked Adams, looking around.

"No, just blaster rifles and pistols."

"Oh well," he said, walking over and picking up a somewhat large blaster rifle. "This will do for now."

* * *

The Master Chief stood with Will outside the entrance of the base on Jecovah. Jecovah was a small planet just outside of Earth's borders and was the place where the portal between the two separate universes was located. When the Spartans weren't away on missions, they were stationed here to protect the civilians. This was the last place to live as Earth was still uninhabitable. He stood outside for a little bit longer, watching the Marines walk by, then walked back inside with Will following suit.

"Are you all right, John?" asked Will, jogging a bit to catch up with the Chief. John had been his name before he had risen to the rank of Master Chief; when he had still been a child.

"I'm fine," he replied, walking straight forward. The truth was he wasn't all right. Every single person he knew was gone, either dead or not around. The other Spartans were currently on a mission in the far reaches of space and weren't expected to be back for at least another few months. Cortana's lifespan had ended and she had "died" several years back, which still pained him to this day. Both Commander Miranda Keyes and Sergeant Major Avery Johnson had been shipped elsewhere after the war had ended and he had not had contact with either of them since then. Even the Arbiter wasn't around, doing some business with the new Covenant Alliance. Will was the last person he knew that he still had contact with.

The Chief continued walking until he reached the portal room. There was a squad of ODSTs, Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, in the room watching over the portal. In the dim light their black armor was barely discernable. They looked up, surprised to see him.

"We'll take over from here," the Chief said. The lead ODST didn't move for a moment before he shrugged and left the room, motioning for his team to follow him. The Chief walked to the center and pulled his battle rifle from his back, holding it in his hands. He stared at the portal, ready if anything came. Nothing had come through for nearly ten years.

"You miss them, don't you?" asked Will suddenly, standing at his side. He was referring to the clones, and everyone else that had come through that portal. The Chief did miss them, he wished that they would come back someday and be here to stay. But, he knew that would never happen.

"Yes, I do," he answered simply.

Will remained silent for a few moments before replying, "I do too." It was then that the teleported started making a loud hissing noise and instantly the Chief and Will had their battle rifles at their shoulders, ready to fire. It continued for a moment, and then two men in white armor came out of the portal, their guns raised to their shoulders as well. The newcomers armor had a small resemblance to the armor the clones wore, yet was completely different. When they saw the two Spartans standing there, they turned their guns to aim at them.

"Drop your weapons or we'll shoot!" one of them yelled. That was all the Chief needed to hear as he squeezed the trigger and killed the man on the left. Will shot the other one in the chest, killing him.

"I'm going through," stated the Chief, bracing the butt of his rifle to his shoulder as he walked towards the portal. "Something's wrong."

"Well, you're definitely not going alone," said Will, following him. The Chief didn't hesitate as he stepped through. When he arrived on the other side, he instantly saw a small group of more white-armored men, their guns held casually at their sides. The Chief took advantage of the surprise and opened fire immediately, dropping two of them before they could even respond. Will came out right behind him, killing off the other two just as they were about to return fire. It was night here, so he turned on his night vision, an upgrade to the MJOLNIR armor, and searched the area.

"Chief…over here," he heard a weak voice say and turned to see someone slumped against the canyon wall. The Chief ran over and instantly recognized Darman, even though he didn't have his armor on.

"Darman! What happened to you?" asked the Chief as he knelt down beside him, questions he wanted to ask the commando forming in his mind. Darman's face and body was covered in blood and what looked like his black fatigues were ripped.

"They interrogated me," he managed to say, spitting blood out onto the ground before continuing. "Asked where the portal was, where the other clones and Jedi were." He paused and took several breaths before continuing, "I didn't tell them a thing."

"Come on, we've got to get you out of here," said the Chief, standing up. "Can you walk?" Darman nodded and with the Chief's help stood while Will kept a look out. Darman then put his arm across the Spartan's shoulders and they slowly made their way to the portal, Darman limping beside him and Will on point. The Chief didn't let his guard down until they were back through the portal and in his universe. When they arrived, they saw that the original group of ODSTs the Chief had dismissed were standing outside the portal, their battle rifles raised at them. When they recognized him, they lowered their weapons and the sergeant of the squad spoke.

"Chief! Don't scare us like that!" He paused as he saw Darman beside him and asked, "Who's that?"

"Friend of ours," the Chief replied. "Stay here and watch the portal, we're taking him to the medical wing."

"Chief, wait," said Darman, speaking up. "Etain and Gett were captured by the Stormtroopers as well. If you and Will hurry, you can save them before they're too far away." The Chief stopped walking, stopping to consider what he should do. He remembered Boss telling him of the relationship between Darman and Etain. They loved each other, and he guessed that the two of them as well as the former Clone Commander, Gett, had stayed on Kashyyyk incase someone tried to get through the portal.

"I would go myself," Darman continued. "I wouldn't get too far, though," he gave him a weak grin. The Chief knew he owed Darman, as a comrade and as a friend.

"Sergeant," said the Chief, pulling Darman's arm off of his shoulder. "Get him to the medical wing. Will, come with me. We're going back."

* * *

"You should be up front, not back here protecting me," protested Leia as Boss and Adams flanked her down the corridor.

"We can do more back here," replied Adams. "And besides, we're your bodyguards; we're supposed to be protecting you."

"As you always have," said Leia, smiling. They were taking her back to the living quarters on the ship, where she had a temporary room. The two of them had donned their armor, Boss has his commando armor while holding his helmet at his side and Adams had his Marine armor. Leia had discovered the armor hidden in a secret room when she was a child, though Boss was thankful she had never made a connection and figured out he had been a clone in the Clone Wars.

"Boss, I can never get over the fact that you look like a Stormtrooper," stated Leia, eyeing his helmet as they walked.

"What can I say, they copied me," he joked and Leia laughed, but Boss got a sick feeling in his stomach. It was too close to the truth. Suddenly, the entire ship shook and Boss had to grab onto a railing on the bulkhead wall to prevent from falling over while Leia grabbed onto his arm. Adams had grabbed something on the other wall. All around the ship alarms started blaring through the hallways, red lights flashed on the ceilings.

"What was that?" asked Leia, looking around the hallway as if she could find the disturbance. It was then that several Rebel troops started running past them. Boss grabbed the arm of one of the soldiers to stop him.

"What's going on?" asked Boss, letting go of his arm.

"Vader's Star Destroyer is shooting at us, but not enough damage to take us down. He's trying to capture us!"

"Okay, hurry up and guard the doors," ordered Boss and the soldier took off after his comrades.

"This isn't good," said Adams, holding his rifle at his side. Boss knew he was right; it had just been confirmed that it was Vader's Star Destroyer, there was no way they could escape against a ship that size, and to make it worse that meant that Vader knew the Death Star plans were on the ship.

"Leia, where are the plans?" asked Boss. They had to get them somewhere safe, if not, jettison them from the ship in a vain attempt to keep them from the Sith lord's hands. To his surprise, Leia reached into her pocket and pulled out a data disc, holding it in front of him.

"Antilles gave these to me," she explained as she put it back in her pocket. "He seemed to know that we were going to get boarded."

"Then we need to get you out of here," stated Boss. "We can sneak you out on an escape pod and land on Tatooine. There, you can find Obi-wan Kenobi and get help." He felt his stomach drop as he realized that if she found Obi-wan, she would also find Sev and Atin. Sev had been a part of his squad while Atin had been in Omega, the two commandos hiding with Obi-wan in the deserts of Tatooine. Boss hadn't seen his comrades in nineteen years.

"What about you two?" Leia asked suspiciously, looking at the two of them. When Boss and Adams exchanged a meaningful look, her expression became one of horror. "No! You can't stay here! If the Stormtroopers find you, you could be killed!"

"We have to stay behind, to help protect the ship and to delay Vader and his troops for as long as possible. Our top priorities are to keep you safe and to get those plans to Alderaan." She still looked fearful, but then knew that her duty came first and she nodded.

"We'll take you as far as the escape pods," said Boss. "After that, we won't be able to come."

"Alright," said Leia with a resigned sigh, accepting the fact that they wouldn't be coming with her. "Let's go." Boss was in the lead as they made their way towards the pods, Leia behind him with Adams bringing up the rear. Several times the ship shook so badly that they nearly fell over, but they continued on. Boss thought they would make it unchallenged until an unlucky Stormtrooper strayed into their path, only to receive several blasts in the chest by Boss.

"Fierfek, there wasn't even a warning that they had made it this far," said Boss, making sure the Stormtrooper was dead.

"You think they could have taken the ship that fast?" asked Leia.

"If they have, there's no way for you to make it out on an escape pod," said Adams, looking worried.

"Let's keep going," said Boss, taking off again. "We can find a way once we get there." On the way to the pods, they only met a few more Stormtroopers before they arrived. But, from the faded sound of blasterfire, Boss knew there were other more heated battles on the ship. When they got there, the room was completely empty.

"I don't like this," said Boss, staying alert for any sound. A beeping behind him made Boss whirl around, but then he recognized the little blue astromech droid, R2-D2.

"Jeeze, Artoo, don't sneak up on us like that," said Adams, letting out a breath of relief. R2-D2, along with the protocol droid, C-3PO, were droids that belonged to the Captain. R2-D2 had been passed though many different owners, including Senator Amidala and Vader himself, before being stationed on this ship. It was weird to see the astromech without its counterpart.

"Wait a second…" said Boss, thinking to himself. "Leia, do you think you could insert that disc into Artoo's drive?"

Understanding dawned on Leia's face as he asked the question, "Yes, and I could record a message for Obi-wan as well." Artoo rolled forward as he listened to their plan, stopping in front of Leia and letting out some excited beeps.

"We'll cover you as you record it," said Boss, gesturing to Adams to follow him. The two of them stood next to the door where they had entered and watched either side. Boss could tell that the gunfire was getting louder, showing that the Stormtroopers were getting closer. At least the Rebels were putting up a good fight. Boss lifted his blaster rifle as someone turned the corner but instantly recognized the humanoid shaped gold droid, C-3PO.

"Threepio, you _di'kut_, d'you have a death wish?" Boss asked angrily, lowering his weapon.

"I am sorry, sir, but I have been looking for Artoo," he answered, walking over to where he and Adams were standing. "Have you seen him?"

"He's inside," Adams said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.

"If that droid would just stay with me we could avoid trouble," said C-3PO to himself as he walked between the two of them and further into the room. Adams grinned as he walked by, but the smile instantly vanished as he brought up his rifle and shot something that was behind Boss. The commando instantly spun around to see what had been behind him and saw a Stormtrooper falling to his back, dead. Just then, two more came around the corner and started firing. Boss' adrenaline shot up as he tried returning fire but it was no use, the troopers were too well covered. The two of them were forced to retreat further into the hallway.

Boss heard footsteps behind him. He turned and saw Leia running towards them. "I've got the plans and the message into Artoo; he understands what he needs to do."

"Good," said Boss, checking to make sure the Stormtroopers weren't coming towards them. "You need to get out of here. See if there's an exit towards the back of this place. We'll hold them off for as long as possible."

Leia looked as if she was about to protest, but stopped herself and instead said, "Good luck." She then turned around and ran back the way she had come, disappearing around a corner. When she was gone, Boss moved forward a little bit and blindly fired several shots over his shoulder, trying to keep the Stormtroopers at bay. One of the Imperial soldiers was stupid enough to step completely out of cover, trying to get a read on them. He was instantly shot once in the head and once in the chest by both Boss and Adams. The firing briefly stopped and Boss was wondering what was going on when suddenly he saw a thermal detonator roll towards the entrance, stopping right in front of them.

"Move!" yelled Boss and he and Adams dived to get out of the blast radius. The grenade exploded, and fortunately they were out of range enough to avoid serious damage but they were still propelled a few feet where they hit the far wall. Falling to the floor, he scrambled to get back to his feet but it was too late, the Stormtroopers were all over them.

Boss threw one Stormtrooper into another, causing them to fall over and he tried to aim his rifle but couldn't as one of them grabbed it. As the trooper tried to wrestle it out of Boss's grip, another soldier hit him in the stomach with the butt of his rifle, making Boss let go of the weapon. There was nothing he could do now as his hands were forced behind his back and were cuffed. Looking over, he saw that Adams had already been subdued.

"All prisoners were ordered to be taken-," started one of the Stormtroopers but before he could finish his orders, there was blasterfire behind Boss and turning, he saw one of the soldiers fall and Leia holding a blaster pistol. As soon as she was seen, she took off in the other direction.  
"Set for stun!" said the same Stormtrooper who had spoken earlier. The one nearest to her raised his rifle and fired some stun waves, causing Leia to fall to the floor, unconscious.

"Now we have three new prisoners," said the trooper. "Take them to Lord Vader."

* * *

The Chief stepped through the portal with Will right on his heels, both of them aiming their battle rifles. But, there was nobody there save for the dead Stormtroopers from earlier on. While the two Spartans searched the dead soldiers, he felt weird at being back in this canyon after years of being gone. Activating his night vision he saw that the canyon had not changed at all and sure enough, he soon found the same path he had taken years ago when he had met Scorch. He kept an eye out for Trandoshans, but Darman had not mentioned anything about them being around so he was mostly worried about the Stormtroopers.

He started following the directions given by Darman but saw that there was no need. In the distance there was a house that was ablaze, the smoke drifting into the air like a beacon. Arriving at the house, the Chief saw objects and furniture distributed about the place as if someone had tried to find something. The Chief hoped that Etain and Gett had not been trapped inside the house; there was no way they could have survived.

"Who's there?" called a voice from behind them. The two Spartans instantly turned around with their battle rifles raised to their shoulders, but stopped in surprise at who it was.

It was Commander Gett, with Etain draped across one of his shoulders and a rifle in hand.

"Chief, is that you?" asked Gett in surprise, walking forward and lowering his gun.

"Yes, it's me and Will," he replied, also lowering his battle rifle. "How did you escape? Darman said the two of you had been captured."

"So Darman's okay?" asked Gett with apparent relief in his voice. "I was worried. But, to answer your question, Etain had managed to hide her lightsaber in her boot. She used some sort of Jedi mind trick to convince the trooper she didn't need to be searched. So, she was able to cut most of them down. One of them broke through and hit her in the head, knocking her unconscious, but I gunned the last of them down."

"Well, this saves us a lot of searching," said Will. "We should head back before more of those Stormtroopers show up."

The Chief nodded, "Let's move, we can finish explaining when we get back." He led the way back towards the path into the valley and towards the portal, where the three of them walked through. The group of ODSTs raised their rifles when they came through, but then lowered them in relief to see the Spartans.

"Hey Chief," said the sergeant, walking forward to meet him. "Someone wants to see you; he's waiting outside medical wing."

"Darman?" asked the Chief, confused.

"No, someone else," he replied, shrugging his shoulders, causing the black armor that was on his body to clap together. "I don't know who it was, I didn't see them."

"Thanks," said the Chief and instantly took off to the wing, thinking to himself. Who had showed up? Someone from the UNSC, or someone from the separate universe that had somehow missed them? When he neared the medical wing, he heard someone yelling and he instantly knew who it was.

"The smoke is not going to do anything bad, just let me in!"

"Sir, we don't want the patient to be exposed to the smoke at the moment, especially in his weakened state," came the strained voice of the medic. "Please, dispose of the cigar." The Chief turned around the corner and saw Sergeant Johnson and to his surprise, the Arbiter, standing there talking to the medic. As soon as the four of them were in sight, Johnson turned around and immediately broke into a grin, pulling his trademark cigar out of his mouth with his hand.

"Chief! Ha-ha, I knew I'd see you again!" He then saw who else was with him, and stared in surprise, "What's going on? I heard Darman was in the medical wing, and now Gett and Etain are back."

"I'll explain everything shortly," said Gett, stepping forward while holding Etain in his arms. "Can we please help her first?"

"Of course," said the medic, stepping forward and relieving Gett of Etain. He carried her into the room while the rest of them stayed outside.

"So what's going on?" asked the Chief, turning to look at him.

"Well…" started Gett, leaning against the wall. "After we left here, we all split up to go into hiding. The Empire was searching for us, and would kill us if they found us. So, we all went in pairs or small groups: I stayed on Kashyyyk with Darman and Etain to watch the portal; Niner and a man named Kyle Katarn were sent somewhere to start a mission; Sev, Atin, and Obi-wan went to a planet called Tatooine to help watch over Luke Skywalker while Scorch and Fi lived with Luke-"

"Wait a second," said the Chief, interrupting. "I recognize that name…"

"Skywalker?" asked Gett, looking at him. "Yeah, you're thinking of Anakin Skywalker."

The Chief stared at him at surprise and Johnson voiced his disbelief, "You're telling me that Darth Vader son of a bitch had a _kid_?"

"Kids, actually, his wife had twins," replied Gett. "He had secretly married a Senator named Padme Amidala without anyone ever finding out until the end, when he pretty much killed her in his rage after finding out she was working with Obi-wan. As far as I know, he still doesn't know his kids survived."

"So you are protecting the children from him," said the Arbiter thoughtfully.

"Exactly, we don't know what would happen if he ever found out they were still alive," Gett said.

"So what about Boss and Adams?" asked Johnson. The Chief knew the sergeant was worried about Adams. Johnson had trained him and had known him for a long time.

"They're Leia's bodyguards now, who's Vader's other child. She was adopted by Bail Organa, a senator that represents Alderaan in the Imperial Senate. Unfortunately, we haven't had contact with them or anyone else since we split up, and we really need to."

"What for?" asked the Chief.

"When the Stormtroopers captured us, they started asking us questions. Where were the other clones? The other Jedi? What were we doing there? None of us answered, so they took Darman somewhere while they were going to take Etain and I to a camp they had set up. They started bragging to us, saying how they already had found other clones, listing off their numbers since they didn't know their nicknames. I didn't know any of them, except for one. RC-1262." Neither Will, Johnson, nor the Arbiter knew who he was talking about, but the Chief instantly knew.

"Is Scorch the only one they've found?" asked the Chief and the other three looked at him in surprise for knowing the number.

"It's all they said," said Gett. "But, it's only a matter of time. They found us, and with everyone getting more involved in the Rebellion they'll begin uprooting everyone else who's in hiding."

The Chief's heart started beating faster; everyone from the separate universe was in danger. The fact that Gett was standing here with them and both Darman and Etain were in the medical wing was proof. He recognized what position they were in the war; it was similar to when the Covenant had found Earth and had nearly destroyed it. If it hadn't been for Delta finding the Chief, humanity would not be alive this day. From the looks the others were giving him, he knew they were thinking the same thing he was.

"We'll help you."

* * *

**Author's Note**: Just want to say that you don't need to correct me concerning Halo 3's storyline. I wrote this before the game came out, and it would have taken a long time to fix both Halo: RC and this to fit the storyline. Figured you guys didn't want to wait any longer. 


	3. Reinforcements

**Reinforcements**

Boss walked down the hallway of _Tantive IV_ flanked by two white-armored Stormtroopers. He couldn't see Adams, who walked behind him, but could see Leia as she walked in front, also flanked by Stormtroopers. With every step he took he became more and more frightened, knowing that he could be walking to his death.

It wasn't that he was afraid of death; he'd been close to dying so many times that it didn't faze him much anymore. He was afraid that if he was killed, Leia and Adams would be interrogated. If he was spared, he knew Vader would instantly recognize him as a clone, therefore the Sith Lord would assume he knew all the information. Boss would definitely be the one who would take the brunt of the interrogation.

They came at a T-intersection and when they rounded the corner Boss's heart beat faster. Vader was standing there with his back to them, talking to one of his officers. The Sith Lord hadn't change at all from when Boss had last seen him. His black cape was draped across his shoulders, covering much of the black armor that covered his body. Boss couldn't see Vader's face, but the commando could see the back of his helmet, black and shining in the ceiling lights. As the officer left, the Stormtroopers walked forward to meet him, their three prisoners in tow.

"Sir, we found these three near the escape pods," one of the Stormtroopers announced. Vader turned around to face them, but as soon as he saw Boss, he took out his lightsaber with surprising agility and held the glowing point of the red blade towards the commando's neck.

Leia gasped and Adams yelled, "No!" Boss heard the Marine struggling against the Stormtroopers, trying to break free.

"Adams, don't," Boss said, feeling unnaturally calm. Neither he nor Vader had moved since the lightsaber had been drawn. The atmosphere was tense as they stared at each other, Vader's loud, mechanical breathing and the humming of his lightsaber filling the silence. Finally, the Sith Lord spoke.

"I should kill you where you stand for all the trouble you have caused me," Vader said, his voice deep as it passed through his respirator. Out of the corner of his eye Boss saw Leia's face, looking worried and confused.

"You already tried, but it didn't work out so well," said Boss, not knowing why he was saying this. Pissing Vader off would only ensure his death.

"I would have killed you if it wasn't for that Spartan!" spat Vader, tightening his grip on his lightsaber.

"The Master Chief?" asked Boss, feeling weird saying the name. He hadn't talked about the alternate universe for a long time. "No, if you would've _aimed_ properly I would be dead."

Vader was now furious, but before he could do anything Leia spoke up, "Boss, what are you talking about?"

Her questioning saved Boss's life as this seemed to calm Vader for some inexplicable reason. "Ah, so the princess doesn't know the truth, does she?" He deactivated his lightsaber and hooked it back on his belt, looking between Boss and Leia.

Boss glared at him even though Vader couldn't see it underneath his commando helmet. He didn't want her to hear the truth from the enemy, but it seemed like he had no choice. There was at least a small victory that in Vader didn't know that he was standing next to his daughter.

"Didn't you ever wonder where all his scars came from?" asked Vader, pressing on. "Why his name is _Boss_ of all things?" Leia didn't answer, looking at the Sith Lord, scared. Boss suddenly felt guilty, keeping all these things from her. It had been to protect her, so why did he feel this way?

"He fought in the Clone Wars. He _is_ a clone." The truth was out; there was nothing he could do. If Boss denied it, he would be lying even more. He looked over at Leia and saw her staring at him in shock, probably not being able to believe what she had just heard. He heard a sharp intake of breath from Adams and knew he felt the same way Boss did.

"Enough of this drama," said Vader, turning away from them. "They are part of the Rebel Alliance and are traitors! Take them away!" Boss and the others were herded back down the hallways by the Stormtroopers, heading towards the exit ramp. Boss knew that as soon as the three of them were alone, he would have to explain everything…except the truth about her and Luke. General Obi-wan Kenobi had given them specific, explicit instructions on that matter.

_Do not, under any circumstances, tell them who their father really was_, he had said before they had all split up. _You can tell them anything else when they're old enough, but do _not _tell them the truth about their past_.

They exited through the door and walked down the ramp into the hangar bay. When they reached the bottom, Boss saw that there were several Rebel soldiers captured and facing the bulkhead wall, their arms clasped behind their head. As the commando watched, he saw several Stormtroopers raise their weapons behind the Rebels. Boss realized what they were going to do before the troopers pulled the triggers of their blaster rifles, executing the Rebel soldiers.

A rage filled Boss as he watched the brave soldiers fall, but the Stormtroopers shoved him forward and they continued walking out of the hangar and into the corridors of the _Devastator_. Boss's mind was in full speed as he tried to think of a way to get out of here, but there wasn't anything he could think of that wouldn't put him and the others in harms way. If they managed to take down their guards and get to a ship, Vader or some officer would notice that the ship was not commanded by one of theirs and either capture them or shoot them down. Escaping from the guards but trying to hide on the ship wasn't even an option.

Boss had been thinking so hard that he hadn't realized they had arrived at the prisoner cells.

"Put these two in a cell," ordered one of the Stormtroopers, pointing to Boss and Leia. "And take the last one and put him with one of the other prisoners." Adams looked worried, but he didn't struggle as he was taken to a different cell away from the two of them. When he was out of sight, the remaining Stormtroopers pushed them forward and took them all the way to the back of the hallway to the last cell. Pushing a button, the lead trooper opened the door and the two of them were un-cuffed and shoved in.

"Have fun," said the Trooper and than shut the door. Boss looked around the cell and saw only one bed attached to the back wall; if you could even consider it a bed as it had no sheets or a pillow, it was just a solid platform. Other than that, there was nothing else in the room; he barely had the space to stand up to his full height. When he was finished looking around, he felt eyes burning in the back of his head and turned to see Leia staring at him, with a questioning look on her face.

"You're probably wondering if what he said was true," said Boss solemnly, getting right to the point.

"It is, isn't it?" she asked, sitting down on the bed.

Boss sighed and took off his helmet so he could talk to her face to face. "I guess I can explain this to you here since Vader already knows who I am. Yes, it's true. I was part of a Republic Commando squad titled Delta, a four-man squad. I was the sergeant."

She looked away for a moment, thinking to herself. It was a few moments until she looked back at him, "Did my father know?"

"Yes, Bail knew," answered Boss, feeling worse by the minute. Should he have kept these things from her? "After the Republic issued the order to execute the Jedi, my squad went against command to save Obi-wan and two other Jedi; Etain Tur-Mukan and Bardan Jusik. After that, the four of us had a death sentence and the only way to escape was to hide. Your father gave me protection and in return, I offered to become your bodyguard."

Leia seemed more curious than confused when she asked the next question, "What happened to the rest of your squad?"

"My sniper specialist, Sev, went with Obi-wan in hiding on Tatooine. Scorch, my explosives expert, went into hiding as a farmer near Sev. Fixer, the slicer, he…" Boss paused; it always hurt to think about Fixer. He decided to leave the way he died out until he had to talk about it. "He was killed by the Empire when we tried to escape."

Leia's eyes instantly filled with pity, "I'm sorry." She paused, and an awkward silence passed in between them before Leia spoke again, "What about Adams?"

"Well…" started Boss, scratching the back of his head. How was he going to explain this? "It's hard to explain."

"Try me," Leia said, crossing her arms and giving him a hard stare. There was no arguing with a politician.

"Okay," Boss said with a resigned sigh. "A long time ago, before you were born and the Clone Wars had ended, my squad found a man. He always went by his rank, Master Chief. He told us that he had been sent through a portal and had entered into another universe: ours."

Her forehead furrowed as she began to think, "You mentioned him, when you were talking to Vader."

Boss nodded, "Yes, my squad ended up going through the portal with the Chief and back to his universe, but this Separatist general named Grievous followed us. Later on, Vader joined him and the two of them fought the Chief and I. We lost, and would have been killed had it not been for reinforcements that reached us in time." Boss could tell that Leia was starting to understand. She was nodding and she didn't look confused anymore, though he could tell she was surprised.

"So Adams is from the separate universe?" she guessed.

"Yes," answered Boss, impressed. "He was a Marine in their army."

She smiled and he raised an eyebrow wondering what was funny. She explained, "So, my father hadn't been lying when he said you two were in the service."

He smiled as well, relieved that she wasn't upset about him not telling the truth sooner, "I guess not." They fell into silence at that point, having nothing more to talk about. Boss hoped a way would open up for them to escape; he needed to know if those plans were able to make it into safe hands.

* * *

"Are you sure?" asked Gett in surprise, looking at the four of them in turn. "This war has begun to get desperate. The Empire has become strong, and everything we've tried has failed. There's this new weapon they made called the Death Star, and it's rumored to be fully capable of destroying an entire planet in one shot. If that thing becomes operational, we don't have a chance against the Empire." He paused, still looking at them. "You sure you want to do this?"

Johnson spoke first, "Huh. Is it just me or does this sound familiar?"

Gett cocked his head to the side, "What do you mean?"

"If you all hadn't helped us out, we would have lost the war against the Covenant," explained Will. Out of the corner of his eye the Chief saw the Arbiter shift awkwardly. He could tell that the Elite was still ashamed of the Covenant he had been a part of.

"Well, maybe, but…" Gett trailed off, trying to think of a reason for them not to help.

"We can take care of ourselves, you won't have to worry about us," said the Chief, knowing why he was hesitating.

Gett sighed, giving in, "You're right, I should be grateful for the help." It was then they heard footsteps and turning the Chief saw an armored ODST running towards them. When he was in front of the Chief, he stopped.

"Chief, there's two men who just came through the portal and claim to know you." The Chief instantly took off towards the portal with the others following him. Who else had come through? Was it a trap? His questions were answered as soon as he entered the chamber.

"Niner!" Omega squad's leader was standing there with another man the Chief didn't know, looking relieved to see them. As soon as the Chief had said a name, the ODST's had lowered their weapons and backed away slightly. While the Chief walked forward to meet them he saw that Niner's armor, like his own, had received upgrades. It seemed less bulky and was no longer black, but a dull gray, though he still had the same helmet with the distinctive, T-shaped visor which he now held at his side.

"I'm glad to see you guys," said Niner, though the look on his face showed the concern he felt. "Kyle and I heard the Empire had discovered the location of where my squad and Boss's had been hiding and we came to Kashyyyk. When we saw what had happened to the house, we'd feared the worst."

"Darman and Etain are in the medical wing," said the Chief. When he saw Niner grow more worried he added, "They're going to be okay. Darman had been interrogated, but the medics are patching him up now and Etain was knocked unconscious; she'll regain consciousness soon."

Niner let out a breath of relief, "That's good. Can I see them now?"

Johnson shook his head, "They're not letting anyone in at the moment."

The man standing next to Niner, Kyle, nodded in understanding, "Figured as much." He was about an inch shorter than Niner with short, brown hair and a closely-trimmed beard. "I'm Kyle Katarn by the way, been working with Niner for years now." The Chief nodded to acknowledge that he had heard, but continued to address Niner.

"Have you talked to any of the others?"

"Haven't had the chance," he replied. "The Empire has ships everywhere, it's hard to travel anywhere without being detected. We got lucky coming here. The two of us were going to check on Darman and the others and then head on to Tatooine."

"That's what we were going to do," said Gett. "Scorch was captured by the Empire."

Niner stared at him in shock, "Then we've got to get going now! If they've already got him, than that means the Empire is that much closer to getting Fi, Sev, and Atin!"

"Do you have a ship?" asked Gett.

"Yeah," Kyle replied. "I've got one, but it only fits about six people." The Chief turned towards Johnson and the sergeant instantly knew what he was going to say.

"Oh, hell no, Chief! Don't tell me I'm gonna have to stay here! There'll be plenty of room on the ship!"

"We don't have a choice, Johnson," replied the Chief. "You need remain here and help guard the portal. If the Empire knows where it is, they will most likely send more troops here."

Johnson let out a resigned sigh, "Alright, alright. You don't have to use that 'make me feel useful' bullshit, I understand."

The Chief turned towards the Arbiter, "You'll be coming with me, if you wish. The Empire most likely won't recognize you if they see you."

The Arbiter nodded in understanding, "I will come with you."

After the war the two of them had worked together to destroy the remains of the Covenant, making sure another alliance wouldn't rise again. During that time they had grown to respect each other as allies and comrades. Now, they were a formidable fighting pair.

The Chief saw that Johnson looked betrayed and he explained, "the Arbiter wouldn't be able to stay here. If there was an attack and reinforcements needed to be called, he wouldn't know who to call since the UNSC relocated."

"My brothers have long returned home," the Arbiter said, supporting the Chief's argument. "I would not know who to contact if we needed aid."

Will put his gauntleted hand on Johnson's shoulder and said, "Don't take it personally, I bet I'm staying behind too, aren't I?"

As Will looked at the Chief, the Spartan nodded in response. "I want to leave this base as well-protected as possible. When we find out what's going on, we'll come back here and get you guys."

The look on Niner's face was one of relief as he said, "I'm glad the two of you are coming to help, but we'll need to move quickly. Follow me."

* * *

Boss listened intently to the noises outside the cell as he leaned against the wall, ready for any Stormtroopers that would come. It was then he heard footsteps coming towards their cell. Looking over, he saw that Leia was still asleep on the bed, having fallen asleep after their conversation. Boss had stayed awake with his helmet still at his side having not replaced it earlier on.

He pushed himself off the wall to stand up fully and as soon as he did the door opened and three troopers walked into the room. Two of them had a crate in between them. Leia woke up instantly and sat up while Boss went to replace his helmet, but the lead Stormtrooper raised his blaster rifle and aimed it at the commando. Boss stopped moving instantly.

"Keep it off. Take all the armor off and put it in this crate." He gestured to the crate with his rifle. Boss glared at the soldier, but his only reply was to drop his helmet in the crate and start taking the straps off of his armor. It was a slow process and several minutes later he was left in only his black bodysuit. The two Stormtroopers picked up the box and brought it out of the room with difficulty, only to be replaced by two more troopers who this time had weapons.

"We've made it to the Death Star and are transferring you to your new cells," said one of the Stormtroopers. "Make any attempt to escape and you'll be shot dead. Now, lets go." Leia stood up next to Boss and the troopers surrounded them, leading them out of the cell. They went the way they had gone before, but this time they exited the ship completely and found themselves in a hangar of the Death Star. Boss looked around for any sign of Adams, but he didn't see him.

They headed for a large blast door that slid open as they approached it. Looking down the corridor, he saw so many Stormtroopers patrolling the battle station that the very idea of escape was completely out of the question. The group continued walking for what seemed like forever to Boss until they finally reached the cell bay. As they entered, an imperial officer clad in black uniform stepped forward to intercept them.

"Where are you taking these prisoners?"

"Sir, cell transfer to cell blocks two-one-eight-seven and two-one-nine-eight," the trooper replied crisply.

"Oh, yes, we've been expecting you," the officer replied, gesturing to a few other Stormtroopers in the cell bay forward. "We can handle this from here."

"Yes, sir," the soldier replied and went back on the elevator they came in on. Once they were gone, the officer started speaking again.

"Take them to their designated cells," he ordered. "Make sure they are separated." Boss glared at the officer as he grinned and walked away, leaving him and Leia alone with the Stormtroopers. One shoved Boss in the back to get him moving and Leia followed him down the small corridor that was lined with cells. Leia was put into a cell in the middle while Boss was taken farther back. The lead trooper opened the door and shoved him in. Boss tripped and hit his elbow painfully on the ground, causing the Stormtroopers to laugh before shutting the door.

"_Di'kut_," muttered Boss as he stood up and rubbed his elbow.

Suddenly, there was a shout of, "Boss!" and someone had jumped onto him, knocking him back into the door. He tensed thinking he was being attacked before realizing that someone was _hugging_ him.

"What in the-" started Boss before turning and seeing a face that he hadn't seen in nineteen years. "Scorch?!"

"I can't believe you're here!" shouted Scorch stepping back and grinning. Adams was sitting behind him on the bed, laughing at the reunion. He hadn't noticed the two of them in here as the Stormtrooper threw him in. Upon seeing one of his squad mates again, Boss couldn't help but grin as well. As soon as Boss had started smiling Scorch and jumped forward, hugging him again, and this time Boss returned the hug, thumping him on the back.

"I guess this isn't the best place for a reunion," said Scorch once he had let go and stepped back again.

The smile faded from Boss' face as he got a clear look at Scorch's condition. He had a black eye and a bloody lip. Seeing this he asked, "How did you get in here?"

Scorch's face became frustrated as he answered, "They found me in Mos Eisley. Can you believe that? I was there, buying some supplies when a squad of Stormtroopers just grabbed me and took me away. Not even a chance to defend myself." Scorch grinned as he joked, "they didn't even read me my rights."

That got Boss worried. If the Empire was starting to just arrest people on sight, that probably meant they knew where everyone was hiding.

"You think they know where everyone is?" asked Adams as if he had read Boss's mind.

"If they apprehended Scorch so quickly, it's possible they might," Boss replied thoughtfully. "Did you hear whether or not they got Fi?"

Scorch shook his head, "I have no idea. It's possible they only knew I was there since they didn't say anything about him or ask me where he was. Though, they did ask me where the other clones were." He reached up and wiped some of the blood away on his lip. "As you can tell, I didn't answer and they got a little impatient with me."

"Are you alright?" asked Boss, worried about his old squad mate's condition.

Scorch shrugged, "I'm fine. They just hit me a few times, that's all."

"_That's all_?" asked an incredulous Adams. "Dude, they beat on you!"

"Really, it's nothing," Scorch said, not meeting any of their eyes. He then turned to look at Boss. "Where's Leia?"

Boss knew Scorch was trying to change the subject, but when Adams looked at him for an answer as well, he replied, "We were split up. She was taken to a different cell." Any joy from the reunion was smothered as he grew worried about Leia. The officer had separated them on purpose, Boss knew he did. The question was, what for? To interrogate the weakest of them? They had already tried to get the answers out of Scorch and apparently, had no success. After all, the clone commandos had been painstakingly conditioned and trained to resist even the most painful and brutal interrogation methods known to their Mandalorian training sergeants. Looking at the other two, he saw that they had the same look of fear on their faces that he felt. He clenched and unclenched his fists, pushing down his fears; thinking things like that would vanquish any hope they had left.

They had to find a way out of here and _fast_.

* * *

Fi leaned his back against the door frame of the entrance to the Lars' homestead, watching the two suns of Tatooine sink below the horizon. Scorch had been gone for almost a week now and the trip was only supposed to take a few days. He crossed his arms and let out a frustrated sigh. If Scorch was in trouble, there would be no way for Fi to know. Then again he just might have got caught up in some stupid bar fight or was screwing around with some of the other locals, the commando did have his stupid moments…

No, he couldn't imagine Scorch doing something _that_ stupid. As much as he tried to lie to himself that Scorch was fine, deep down Fi knew something bad had happened.

"You coming inside anytime soon?" asked a voice from the stairs. Turning to look over his shoulder he saw Luke Skywalker, the son of Darth Vader, walking up the stairs. When he reached the top, Fi turned to look back at the sunset.

"Just want to watch the suns set," replied Fi. "You know, since I've never seen this before."

Luke smiled and said, "Well, we're getting some new droids tomorrow. That means less work for us and maybe…" Fi turned to look at him as his sentence trailed off.

"Maybe Owen will stop acting like he's got something stuck up his-?"

"Fi!" yelled Beru, Luke's aunt, from inside the house. "Is Luke up there with you?"

"Yeah, he's right here," Fi called back while Luke covered is mouth, laughing at the realization of what Fi had been about to say.

"Alright, I just wanted to make sure. You two get to bed at a decent time, you'll be plenty busy tomorrow."

When Beru was gone Luke said, "C'mon, Uncle Owen isn't _that_ bad."

"True, though you have to admit he's been getting a little more cranky as time goes by."

Luke shrugged and silence fell between them as they watched the last light of the suns disappear from the sands. During that time Fi came to a decision.

"You and Owen may need to pick out the droids without me," said Fi. "If Scorch isn't back by tomorrow, I'll have to go look for him."

Luke turned to look at him, his eyes full of both curiosity and worry. "When was he supposed to be back?"

"About four days ago," Fi answered, not taking his gaze off of the horizon. The suns were gone now and a thin darkness surrounded them. It was almost time for the two of them to head indoors. Using that as a distraction he said, "Let's head inside, it's too dark to stay out here any longer." Luke nodded absentmindedly and followed Fi into the homestead. After shutting off the lights and getting into bed, Fi began to wonder what he would even be able to do if Scorch really was in trouble…

In a light, fitful sleep, Fi got the unnerving feeling he was being watched. He opened his eyes and at first didn't see anything except for the darkness that enveloped the room he and Luke shared. Shifting hid head slightly, he saw a silhouette of a helmet in front of him. He was about to cry out a warning to Luke but before he could say anything a gloved hand reached forward and covered his mouth. He struggled against the intruder until the man whispered into his ear.

"Fi, you _di'kut_, it's me." Fi instantly lay still and stared in amazement. He hadn't seen this man in years. "Follow me, we need to talk. Do not say a word until we're outside."

The hand was lifted off of his mouth and he was barely able to hear the sound of footsteps leaving the room. He looked over to the other bed to check and see if Luke had woken up. The kid was still sound asleep, unaware of anything that was going on. Fi pulled back his covers and followed the man outside of the homestead, into the darkness. It was obviously still in the middle of the night as there was no light to help him see. It was then the man activated a lamp and he could clearly see the two people that were there.

It was his old training sergeant, Kal Skirata along with the Null ARC Trooper, Ordo, both of them holding their helmets at their sides. It seemed that age had caught up with Kal; his hair was thin and gray and wrinkles creased his face as he smiled at Fi. He'd donned his traditional sand-gold Mandalorian armor, as did Ordo - although the Null-ARC wore red _beskar'gam_. Ordo, like most of the Jango Fett clones, looked exactly like Fi - with the same dark hair, high-cheek boned face, and coffee-colored skin. However, unlike most clones, the Null-ARCs were taller and more heavily built than the successive clone batches. Fi grinned at the sight of the two of them and went to embrace Kal in a hug. The sergeant laughed quietly as he patted him on the back. When the two of them broke apart Ordo went forward to slap Fi on the shoulder, slightly harder than it needed to be. Whether he did it on purpose or accident he didn't know.

"What are you guys doing here?" asked Fi. The last time he had seen the two of them was nearly fifteen years ago when they had visited him and Scorch. They said they had found the cure to the clones' accelerated aging by studying Ko Sai's research. Along with the help of Arkanian Microtechnologies they had administered it to the each of them. Now, they were going to have a much longer life span.

"We need to warn you about something," started Kal. The look on his face worried Fi.

"How long has Scorch been gone?" asked Ordo suddenly, replacing his helmet. The Null-ARC wasn't one to dodge around a topic, he always got right to the point.

"Nearly a week now," said Fi. He looked at the two of them, "Is that why you're here?"

"Yes, it is," Kal replied with a resigned sigh. "We found some information regarding the Empire's plans, so we're-"

"Whoa, wait, slow down," Fi interrupted, holding out his hands. "What happened to the 'we don't report to anyone' plan?"

"Oh, it's still in effect," answered Ordo, crossing his arms.

"We're doing this for you boys," explained Kal. Fi knew exactly what he meant; the two of them were gathering intel for the clones' safety.

"So, what's up?" asked Fi, inviting Kal to continue.

"Well, what we found out is that the Empire has discovered where Delta and Omega are hiding," finished Kal. Fi stared at him in astonishment. How could they have found them out? They've all been in perfect hiding, unless something happened to one of his brothers. As far as he knew, Niner, Darman, or Boss could be in trouble. But from what Kal had just said, it certainly explained what happened to Scorch.

"I was gonna head into Mos Eisley tomorrow to find out what happened to Scorch, but now…"

"Do not leave this homestead unless you have to," Kal instantly ordered, his face stern. "If you head into any of the towns or spaceports, you'll be easy pickings for the Stormtroopers, just like Scorch was."

"So Scorch _was_ captured?" asked Fi, feeling his first sense of concern. Before they had lived together, he had been closest with his own squad mates. But, after being with Scorch for nineteen long years, they had bonded so close that they were like pod brothers.

"We believe so," answered Kal, "though we haven't been able to confirm it."

"_Kal'buir_," Ordo said, cutting the conversation short, "we should probably get moving." His visor was facing towards the horizon. Fi looked too and saw a faint glow starting to form, indicating that dawn was approaching and that Owen and Beru would soon be awake.

"Alright, I've got to hurry this up," said Kal, reaching to place his hand on Fi's shoulder. "The Empire is at its strongest now, and its using all its power to crush whoever gets in its way. I wish you boys had come with us, but I can understand your decisions." He looked away for a moment, before sighing and looking back at Fi. "Just be careful out there, I don't want anything to happen to you or your brothers." Kal removed his hand from Fi's shoulder and stood up at his full height, though he was still a full head shorter than the commando.

"Have you checked on any of the others?" asked Fi, desperate for news on his old squad mates or his comrades from Delta squad.

Kal shook his head, "We know that Niner is okay, but everyone else we're not sure. Boss is almost impossible to track down because he never leaves Leia's side. As for Sev and Atin, we're visiting them tomorrow night."

Fi nodded, trying to think of some way to brighten the mood, but he couldn't think of anything to say. He had the feeling that something bad was going to happen, and he couldn't shake it. Kal seemed to notice this since he said, "Don't worry about it, son. You just worry about keeping yourself and Luke safe."

"_Kal'buir…_" Ordo said again, a little urgently. Fi instantly brightened at the opportunity to get at Ordo.

Walking over, he playfully hit the ARC on the arm and said, "What, don't enjoy the-?" But he was never able to finish his sentence as Ordo whipped around and grabbed Fi by the wrist. Using his momentum, Ordo turned Fi's hand the wrong way and pushed, forcing him to the ground and onto his back. While he lay there, Ordo started laughing and helped Fi back to his feet.

"It never gets old," he said, clapping Fi on the back and then walking away to the speeder. Brushing off the sand on his pants, Fi looked up to see Kal smiling and shaking his head.

"One day he's going to break your arm, and he'll _still_ be laughing."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Wow, you guys (and girls), I'm really sorry for the long update. Things have been really stressful for me lately. But, I made the chapter longer to (hopefully) make up for the long period of time between chapters. Also, I know things are moving kinda slow right now, but it's building up for something that's gonna happen later on. So, I hope you enjoyed and I'll try to get the next chapter out faster. 


	4. A Mission Gone Wrong

**A Mission Gone Wrong**

The Master Chief followed Niner through the bottom of the canyon, battle rifle held tightly against his shoulder as he swept the area through his sights. When there were no signs of any Stormtroopers, he brought down the rifle slightly and continued walking. Kyle followed behind the Chief, holding what he recognized as a blaster rifle. The Arbiter earlier on had went on ahead to scout the area, invisible to any eyes because of his active camouflage. Not that he needed to as it was still night on Kashyyyk.

"The area is clear, no hostiles in sight," the Arbiter's voice whispered across the Chief's COM speakers in his helmet.

"Do you see the ship?" asked Niner. Kyle had explained to the Elite what the ship looked like enough for him to distinguish it from any Imperial ships that could have landed.

"Yes, the ship is still here," the Arbiter replied. "They do not seem to have found it."

"Good, we'll catch up to you in just a bit." Niner shut off the COM, then opened a private one with the Chief and stated, "I still find it weird working with an Elite, especially after what they did to Fi and Atin."

The Chief recalled what had happened when he and Omega Squad had landed for the first time on Delta Halo. Niner had been too injured to join them, so it had only been Darman, Fi, and Atin. They had been attacked by a group of Special Ops. Elites and had killed all of them off save for one, who had escaped.

Atin had been attacked by it and knocked unconscious, only to be saved by Fi. During the fight between the Elite and commando, Fi had received a cut across his shoulder thanks to the energy sword. The Chief couldn't blame Niner for not trusting the Elite yet; it had taken himself some time to as well. Now, the Chief and the Arbiter had been fighting side by side for years, and they worked together nearly as good as the Spartans did.

"You get used to it," the Chief replied simply.

They continued walking through the rocky canyon for a few more minutes, their footsteps barely making any noise on the stone. Walking around a corner, the Chief was able to see the ship sitting in the gorge. It was then he saw a yellow blip on his motion detector, indicating friendly. Looking over towards the direction, he saw the Arbiter deactivate his camouflage as the Elite walked over to meet them.

"Impressive," said Kyle as the Arbiter reached them.

"Come on, we'll talk later," said Niner before the Arbiter could reply. "We need to get off this planet before the Empire realizes we were even here." The Chief nodded and followed Kyle towards the ship, Niner and the Arbiter right behind him. As they walked closer, the Chief could see some distinguishing features of the ship through the darkness, though it was hard because the ship itself was as black as the night. It was roughly the size of a Pelican, slightly wider to accommodate more room. The ship was also sleek and smooth, but the Chief could see some scrapes and burns scattered across the hull.

Kyle entered in some type of code beside the entrance and it opened, protruding a ramp for them to walk in. Upon entering, the Chief could see that it was a lot more spacious on the inside than it looked on the outside. There were several chairs along the wall of the left side of the room along with a bed. In the middle, there was a small steel table and next to that different types of crates and boxes, most likely weapons and supplies. At the back of the room, the opposite end of where the Chief was standing, there was a door where he guessed lead to the cockpit as well as another door.

"Might want to strap yourselves in, it might get a little bumpy before we enter Hyperspace," said Kyle, talking louder now that they were inside. The Chief remembered a long time ago, while traveling to Delta Halo with Delta and Omega Squad, when Atin mentioned that their Hyperspace was a lot like the Chief's Slipspace. Both Kyle and Niner went through the door and disappeared while the Chief and the Arbiter each chose a seat and strapped in.

"Is this Hyperspace similar to our Slipspace?" asked the Arbiter, who had not been there when Atin mentioned it.

"From what I've heard, yes," replied the Chief. As soon as he finished his sentence he felt the ship start to vibrate, indicating it had been powered up. A few moments later it began to rise from the planets surface, flying upwards out of Kashyyyk's atmosphere. The Chief gripped the armrests of the seat, hating this part of the flight.

He could do absolutely nothing if something went wrong as he didn't know how to fly the ship. The Chief would just have to rely on Niner and Kyle to get them through this; they had experience driving this ship. Even with that reassurance, it was still difficult to get rid of the helpless feeling in the pit of his stomach. The cockpit door was open, but the Chief couldn't make out any of the words that were spoken between the two of them. Judging by their calm tones, things were going well. Just then, Niner's voice came in over the Chief's helmet speakers.

"We've got a _lot_ of Imperial Starships out here, but we're sneaking in under their sensors. Unfortunately, I think they may be starting an assault on your universe." The Chief silently cursed to himself at the news. He shouldn't have left so quickly, it was just he got caught up in the moment. Now, there was no way he could make contact with Will or Johnson to warn them about the assault. He just had to wish they were on their toes and well prepared.

As if Niner read his mind the commando said, "As soon as we find out what happened to the others, we'll come straight back here. I'm sorry, but there's no way to go back planet-side and warn them without drawing attention to ourselves."

"I understand," the Chief replied, his voice hard. He had never felt so helpless. Niner turned around in his seat slightly, glancing at the Chief before looking back out the cockpit.

"We'll be able to make the jump to light speed in a few moments," Kyle announced over the COM channel. "Just need to get away from these Starships and their radars." The ship continued along steadily, moving slowly to avoid detection. The black void outside seemed to push in on the Chief as the lights on the inside dimmed while the ship prepared for the jump. The ship started to gain speed, and finally with a last lurch, made the jump to hyperspace.

* * *

They exited light speed ten hours later, arriving just outside Tatooine. The Chief stood at Niner's shoulder, looking outside the cockpit at the planet. From space it seemed to contain a lot of sand, the planet dominated by tan and light brown colors. Looking around, he also realized in surprise that there were two suns.

"Do most planets have two suns?" the Chief asked.

Niner shook his head, "No, Tatooine is unique. Unfortunately, it also means it's hot as all get out down there. It's livable, but I don't see how people can make a life in the heat." The Chief nodded in reply, knowing he had no need to worry about temperatures unless they reached extreme conditions. His MJOLNIR armor was known for its durability.

"Oh _fierfek_," Niner said suddenly, looking out of the cockpit in horror. The Chief moved so he could see what the commando could and his stomach sunk in dread.

An imperial Starship was patrolling just outside Tatooine's atmosphere.

"Has it seen us?" asked the Chief.

"Not yet," Kyle replied breathlessly. They all waited silently, willing the ship to leave. A few moments later, the Starship accelerated and jumped into Hyperspace. Niner visibly sunk into his chair in relief. As soon as he did the Arbiter walked through the door and stood at Chief's shoulder. The Spartan could tell he was confused.

"What happened?" he asked.

"We nearly exited light speed right next to a starship," Niner replied. "Our mission would have ended pretty quickly if they had seen us."

"Do you think they left Stormtroopers here?" the Chief asked.

"There are three reasons why they would be here," Niner started. "One, the Empire is here to check something out and when they were done, pulled out all the troops which is a very slim possibility. Two, they were looking for something that ended up here, and either found it or didn't and left some troopers to find it. Or the final possibility, they know the clones and Obi-wan were hiding here and they found them."

"Then we must land quickly," stated the Arbiter.

Kyle turned back to look outside the cockpit to steer the ship into the atmosphere. "We need to be careful; it looks like there are more starships on the other side of the planet." He paused for a second, and then continued, "If the Empire is here, and has left Stormtroopers, I don't think you should go Niner."

Niner turned to face him, "there's no way I'm staying on the ship. I want to make sure my brothers are all right."

Kyle didn't seem the bit surprised by the commando's reaction. In fact, he grinned and said, "Didn't expect you to, buddy. I wouldn't trust you with my ship anyways." Niner grinned as well and turned towards the Chief.

"He is right in some cases, though. Unfortunately, we're going to have to remove our armor." The Chief didn't like that at all, he rarely did missions that required no armor, but knew he was right. They would be recognized instantly if they walked into the town with full armor.

"Arbiter, you won't need to take yours off. They wouldn't recognize you and probably dismiss you as some random alien species." The Arbiter nodded, obviously relieved. Kyle continued driving the ship down to port while the Chief and Niner moved towards the back, changing out of their armor and into civilian clothes that Kyle had stowed in storage. Their clothes were light brown shirts and pants; the Chief's a little too short for him because of his height. They wore light body armor underneath and each carried a blaster pistol attached to their belts. Niner explained that the place they were heading to, Mos Eisley, that it was common to see somebody with a weapon.

Kyle managed to get them a docking area and they landed peacefully enough. There weren't any Stormtroopers around and the docking manager accepted the payment without suspicion. So far things were going smoothly. As soon as the Chief exited the space craft behind Niner, the heat billowed against him. He privately agreed with the statement the commando had made earlier; he couldn't imagine anybody being able to live here. It felt like a desert with the two suns beaming down on him.

As the Arbiter followed the Chief out, the Spartan noticed the manager give him a quick, curious glance before returning his gaze to Niner. There was one thing that was going good; the Arbiter would be able to blend into the crowd without gaining attention. After the payment had been negotiated the Chief followed Niner out of the dock and into the streets, if you could call them that. They were completely just sand and dust, no pavement or rocks or anything. A vehicle drove by and the Chief looked in surprise as it hovered above the ground, blowing sand out from under it. It seemed their technology was much more advanced than the UNSC's was.

Once the vehicle had passed they crossed the street to the other side and continued walking parallel to the road.

"Where are we going?" asked the Chief at Niner's shoulder.

"To find a person who knows where the Lars' homestead is," he replied, turning his head so the Chief could hear him. "Also to grab a speeder, we don't want to have to walk all that way."

"Is that the vehicle that passed us back there?"

"Yes, we'll want to rent one because buying one is way too many credits at the moment." The Chief made note of the speeder, then wondered if it had been like this for the clones when they first entered his universe. He remembered the first time he, Sergeant Johnson, and Delta Squad minus Boss had used the Warthogs. They had been curious about the car, and hadn't been able to drive it. Now the Chief could see why as another speeder passed by, hovering without a visible steering wheel or tires.

"Things are much different here," the Arbiter muttered in his ear, echoing his thoughts. They continued walking, being wary of their surroundings but not being obvious enough to attract attention. Turning a corner, Niner stopped with the two of them behind him.

"This is the place I'm looking for," Niner stated, looking at the entrance. They walked in, and instantly the Chief felt like he was in some sort of bar. There was what looked like a live band consisting of all aliens, a counter in a U-shape in the middle and several tables along the wall. A few people and aliens were dancing in front of the band while others sat at various stools and chairs. The music and raucous laughter was almost deafening. A few people gave them a look as they walked in but then turned away uninterested.

"This is the Cantina," Niner explained after entering. "I'm sure you could tell by now it's a bar; all the locals come here to get drunk and have a good time." He paused to have a look before continuing, "This is also a good place if you want to make a deal with somebody without attracting attention to yourself." The Chief nodded in understanding. This bar was the perfect place to ask questions without getting the Empire breathing down their necks. Suddenly, the Arbiter's voice was in his ear.

"Don't turn around, two Stormtroopers followed us in," he warned. The Chief silently cursed. They couldn't possibly have been found out already? He passed on the news to Niner. The commando didn't reply right away, but started thinking. After a few moments of silence he replied.

"Well, I'm just gonna have to be discreet about this then. You and the Arbiter head to the bar, act natural. I'm going to see if anybody knows where the homestead is. Watch my back."

"You got it," the Chief replied, then gesturing to the Arbiter to follow him, they headed over to the counter. The bar tender didn't pay them any mind, which was good because he had no idea what the drinks here were called. The Chief took a seat while the Arbiter sat on a stool beside him and they both casually watched Niner and the Stormtroopers. The soldiers didn't follow Niner. In fact, they hovered at the entrance, casually watching over the civilians. They may just be on patrol, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Meanwhile Niner milled about the bar, acting as if he knew everybody and greeted them like old friends. He stopped to chat with one or two of the people, talking about random things like the weather and something about a moisture farm. As the Chief watched, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder and he turned around and found himself staring straight into the helmet of a Stormtrooper. The trooper's partner was standing at the man's shoulder, giving the soldier backup.

"Sorry to bother you, but have you seen anything strange going on around here lately?" the trooper asked, his voice coming out through his helmet's speakers.

The Chief pretended to be curious and replied innocently, "No, I haven't. Why?"

"Nothing too important," the Stormtrooper answered, looking around the bar. At least, that's where his helmet was moving. "We've picked up a couple of fugitives in the past several days that have been hiding for a long time now. Our unit has received reports that another one has landed here today."

_Shit_, the Chief thought, knowing exactly what the Stormtrooper meant. Right after the trooper finished his sentence he reached down for his rifle. The Chief was too fast for him as he grabbed the soldier's wrist that had the weapon and swept his feet our from under him. He heard scuffling beside him letting him know that the Arbiter was working on disarming the other one.

Stretching out the Stormtroopers arm, he kicked as hard as he could into his bicep. With a loud _crack!_ the bone broke and the trooper cried out in pain, dropping the weapon. The Chief grabbed it and quickly made note of where the trigger and grip were. In a flash he fired a blast into the Stormtrooper, killing him instantly. Looking over at the Arbiter, he held the other trooper's blaster rifle in his hands, the other trooper dead on the ground as well.

"Niner!" the Chief called, but there was no need. The commando had seen the struggle and was already running towards them.

"We've got to get out of here!" yelled Niner, running out of the entrance. The Chief and Arbiter followed him out, pushing the people who had begun to gather around out of the way. Once outside, they looked around but didn't see any other Stormtroopers nearby. They must have either not called for backup or they haven't arrived yet. Suddenly, Niner stepped out into the street in front of an oncoming Speeder, forcing the driver to stop abruptly.

"What do you think you're doing?!" the man driving yelled, pissed off.

"We need to commandeer your vehicle," Niner stated plainly, not moving out from in front of him.

"Like hell you are!" Niner then reached for his blaster pistol and held it up, aiming directly at the man's forehead.

"Are you sure?" His eyes widened as he stared straight down the gun barrel, obviously not wanting to argue with a man who had a blaster.

"Okay, just take it! Don't shoot!" The man wasted no time in scrambling out of the speeder, tripping over his own feet in his haste and falling to the ground. He quickly got to his feet and ran down the road and around the corner.

"That took care of things quickly," Niner stated calmly, climbing into the drivers seat. The Chief and Arbiter quickly jumped into the back and Niner took off, driving down the street faster than what the Chief had seen other speeders driving at. He glanced over his shoulder to see if anybody had followed them, but from what he could see no Stormtroopers were in sight.

"Hopefully those Stormtroopers were stupid enough to not call in backup when they saw me," said Niner, glancing from side to side quickly before returning to look straight ahead. "I can't believe I was so stupid, I should have known they would recognize me after they found Scorch."

"We didn't know he had been caught in Mos Eisley," the Chief replied. "It was just bad luck."

"Maybe." Niner slowed down slightly, making a few turns here and there. The Chief noticed that the buildings and huts were becoming less frequent. They must be arriving at the edge of the town. But, as they reached the final hut, they saw several Stormtroopers waiting there. As they approached, they flagged them down to stop. The Chief noticed that they held their blaster rifles casually at their sides, and didn't seem hostile at all. Maybe a common border patrol? Niner seemed to think the same thing.

"Alright, I'm gonna stop, but be ready." The Chief nodded and held his hand close to the blaster rifle at his side. The speeder slowed down until it came to a complete stop by one of the Stormtroopers, who approached the vehicle.

"We need to see some identification before you leave," the Stormtrooper stated in a matter of fact tone.

"It's right here," Niner said, handing him a card that was in his pocket. As the Stormtrooper took the card and looked at it, he saw one of the troopers in the back pause slightly. He nodded his head a few times, then turned to look directly at Niner and started walking towards them.

_Not good_. Right as the Stormtrooper handed Niner back his I.D., the Chief yelled, "Niner! Go!" Niner didn't hesitate as he instantly drove forward, leaving the confused Stormtroopers behind. The one single trooper raised his blaster rifle, but the Chief turned and fired his own rifle, killing the soldier in one hit.

"Fierfek, that was close," said Niner, glancing over his shoulder. "Nice eye, Chief." The Chief looked too and saw that several of the Stormtroopers were running, probably trying to get some means of transportation.

"Where are we heading now?" asked the Chief.

"To the Lars homestead," Niner replied. "That's where Fi and Scorch were stationed, watching over Luke."

"Niner, we better be careful," the Chief started, remembering something the Stormtrooper had said. "When the Stormtrooper came over to question me, he mentioned that they had captured _two_ fugitives."

"Did they say anything about them being clones?" Niner asked.

"No, but he did mention that they had been in hiding for a long time." Niner bit his lip, obviously thinking this through. The Chief knew that he was concerned; they could be heading right into a trap if both Scorch and Fi had been captured.

"The Stormtrooper had not mentioned if the second had been captured here as well," the Arbiter stated.

Niner didn't say anything immediately, but continued to think. While he did so the Chief glanced back again and noticed that none of the Stormtroopers were giving chase. Were they that careless to not come after them? Or were his fears coming true, that there were other Stormtroopers laying a trap? Niner seemed to be reading his mind.

"Stormtroopers aren't stupid. They have to realize where we're going, and lay a trap for us." Niner paused for a few moments, and then continued, "When we arrive you guys hide in the speeder. It's me they're after, and won't realize the two of you missing. That'll give us the element of surprise."

"And what happens if they shoot you on sight?" the Chief asked, not liking this plan.

"They won't," Niner replied with confidence. "They had captured Scorch, not killed him. If I see them and pretend to surrender, they won't open fire."

The Chief still didn't like it; he didn't want to be on the safe side while Niner stuck out his neck for them. But, he couldn't think of anything else and he reluctantly agreed. If this worked, they could ambush the Stormtroopers and get out of here. If not…the Chief didn't want to think about what would happen then.

* * *

Boss sat in the holding cell with Scorch and Adams, worrying about Leia but also trying to think of a way out. They hadn't come up with anything yet.

"Ambushing the guards wouldn't get us anywhere," Boss replied after Adams suggested it. "There's too many Stormtroopers around, and how would we find Leia?"

Adams shrugged; Boss guessed he was just throwing random ideas out there. "It worked on Jecovah." The Marine was referring to the time he and Boss along with Dr. Halsey, the creator of the SPARTAN-II project, and Kelly, a Spartan herself, had been held captive by Grievous on the planet Jecovah. It had been a stroke of luck that they had gotten away at all. Fixer, having been captured by MagnaGuards on Earth, had arrived on the planet as soon as Boss and the others escaped, giving them an easy way off planet.

"That was different," Boss replied. "There were more of us, not to mention we had a definite escape route. Here it would take us forever to find the hangar."

Adams let out a sigh of frustration, "Dammit, I hate being stuck in here. I feel so useless!" The look on Scorch's face said that he felt the same way, and Boss knew he himself did too. They couldn't do anything to help Leia, let alone help the entire Rebel Alliance. The three of them were stuck in here, for how long neither of them had any idea. Boss was about to reply when the cell door opened without warning and several Stormtroopers stood outside.

"You," the trooper pointed at Boss, "come with us." Scorch and Adams immediately stood up, ready to defend Boss, but the sergeant held up a closed fist.

"It's not worth it." He turned to look at them, "I'll be fine, don't worry about me." They still looked concerned, but they sat back down and watched silently as Boss walked out of the cell and was handcuffed by the Stormtroopers. Once that had been done the cell door shut behind him and he was escorted out of the cell bay.

After several minutes of walking they arrived at a large pair of double doors. While approaching they slid open to reveal the control room of the Death Star. Boss immediately saw many things that made him slightly worried. The first was Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin himself standing together, looking menacing. The next was Leia standing in front of them and the look on her face wasn't good. She looked close to tears, but she didn't look physically hurt. What happened?

"Ah, Boss, welcome to the control room," Tarkin spoke up, waving a hand around the room as if giving a tour. Vader said nothing, just stood next to Tarkin as if he was his shadow. Boss didn't reply and walked over to stand beside Leia. She didn't look at him, just stared back at Tarkin with a mixed look of anger and grief.

"You just missed the spectacle," Tarkin continued, bringing both of his arms behind his back. "We just used the Death Star on our first planet. It worked quite well on dear Leia's home." Boss stared at him in horror. They used it on _Alderaan_? They had nothing worth while, no weapons or supplies or anything. They were just a peaceful planet. _It was just a demonstration. A threat to the rebellion_, thought Boss. Now he knew why Leia was so upset; her family was dead. He turned to look at her but she was still staring at the screen and didn't notice him.

"Having doubts now, are we?" asked Tarkin, grinning. He was loving every second of this, Boss knew, but he wasn't going to give him that pleasure. He was about to say something but one of the crew members on the deck spoke up.

"Sir, incoming message from Tatooine."

"Play it," Tarkin said, turning towards the video screen. The screen came to life and briefly there was static, then a Stormtrooper appeared.

"One of our patrols in Mos Eisley found another clone with two allies in the Cantina. They tried to arrest them, but they managed to fight their way out." Boss's heart started beating faster. Who was the clone? Was it Sev? Or someone from Omega? He forced himself to keep concentrating on the message. "They're on the run now, and most likely heading to 1262's last position. We'll be heading there to leave a trap and arrest all three of them. Here's a still we managed to get of them." By now Boss's head was spinning. From what he had heard, the three were heading to the Lars' Homestead and walking right into a trap. He waited breathlessly for the image, and when it appeared he stared in disbelief. They were sitting in a speeder, the clone in front and the other two in back. Boss recognized Niner by the way he held his head, like Skirata, slightly tilted. He shifted his gaze to the two people sitting in the back and his mouth fell open at who it was.

The Master Chief and the Arbiter.

They were _here_, in his own universe. How did they get all the way to Tatooine? Why was Niner with them? Too many questions and not enough answers. Boss looked over at Tarkin and Vader, hoping that the Sith lord didn't recognize them.

Tarkin had no idea who they were and said, "Send them a message back that the clone is their top priority. If that means killing the other two, than do it."

"Wait," Vader said, walking closer to the screen, not taking his eyes off of it.

Tarkin looked at him curiously, "Do you recognize them?" Boss was just beginning to think that Vader wouldn't be able to tell who they were when he suddenly noticed something.

The scar across the Chief's face. General Grievous had left that scar there with a lightsaber in their last fight. Stretching across his face, the wound had been so bad that it had forced the Chief to…

…to remove his helmet. Vader had seen the Spartan's face in that battle. They both realized this at the same time, Vader slowly turning his head towards him. There was nowhere Boss could go as Vader made a move towards him. With speed that was unexpected for his size he grabbed Boss's neck and held him in the air. Instantly Boss could barely breathe as Vader's grip on his windpipe tightened.

"How did he get here?!" Vader snarled, tightening his grip even more. Boss clawed at the hand around his neck but it did nothing.

"I don't know!" Boss spluttered, hanging a foot off the ground. "I haven't talked to any of them since that war!"

"Liar!" yelled Vader. "You sent someone to get him here!"

"Nobody knew!" Vader threw him, Boss hitting his head on the wall so hard that he momentarily was dazed, laying on the ground. He felt a small trickle of blood start to run down the back of his neck. Leia ran to his side, but he barely noticed her as Tarkin began talking again.

"Vader, what is going on?" he demanded, a look of surprise etched on his face.

"That man with the scar must be killed immediately," Vader said, looking back at the screen. "He poses a great threat to the Empire. There are many allies he can call to help him."

"How many?" asked Tarkin.

"At least hundreds, maybe even thousands."

Tarkin stared back at him in horror and Boss knew why. Hundreds of well trained men to aid the rebellion? That could end terribly for the Empire. Tarkin then turned to look at Boss and he felt surprised to see the anger that was burning in his eyes.

"If I find out that you had anything to do with this," he said, glaring at Boss. "I will issue the death order."

"We should kill him now!" Vader said, turning towards him.

"No." Tarkin looked at him for a few moments, and then said, "He could have useful information. Take him and the Princess back to their cells."

* * *

**Author's Note**: Wow guys…I really am sorry for such a long update. I couldn't apologize enough for making you guys wait so long, you deserve better. I started the story too soon, and I didn't know where I was going with it. Ch. 2 had felt wrong to me and I couldn't figure out why until I talked to my friend and fellow writer Freelancer92 (read his stories, they're great). I've got it fixed, and hope to be writing more and a lot faster. I hope you guys can forgive me for making you wait so long.


	5. Living in Chaos

**Living in Chaos**

Stormtrooper TK-163, or Sergeant Jerik, crouched in his hiding spot outside the Lars' homestead, waiting for the unsuspecting clone to arrive in his speeder. The light from the two suns gleamed off his white armor, but he hoped that he had hid himself well enough that they didn't notice. After sending the message to Grand Moff Tarkin, he and his squad had received orders to lay a trap for the deserter, capture him, and kill his two allies. It was simple, and he knew that this operation would go smoothly. The renegades would arrive, park, and that's when his squad would spring the trap and arrest the clone.

As he reviewed the plan in his mind, off in the distance a lone speeder appeared over the horizon. _Here we go_, Jerik thought, his body tensing as he prepared to jump from cover. The speeder grew closer, until he could clearly see the clone sitting in the drivers seat, but immediately noticed that the two allies were missing.

_Does he really think we're that stupid?_ he asked himself, shaking his head slowly. Like they would immediately forget about them? Finally, the speeder slowed and then came to a stop in front of the homestead, the driver completely unaware of what was waiting for him.

"Now!" screamed Jerik into his units COM link and he jumped from the doorway he had been hiding in, holding his blaster rifle to his shoulder. "Don't move, you're under arrest!" The clone's face turned to one of shock and surprise as the five other Stormtroopers in his squad appeared from cover. Jerik slowly moved closer to the speeder, never taking his eyes off the man incase he drew a weapon. The clone, being smart, clasped his hands behind his head.

"Where are the other two?" Jerik asked, holding the rifle towards the clones face.

"Who?" the man replied, faking a confused face. _Not too smart_.

"Don't even try to pretend you don't know who I'm talking about," Jerik replied, hearing his squad mates shuffle closer to the speeder. "Your two friends, one of which killed a member of the border patrol."

"Oh, _them!_" the clone said as if just now realizing what he was talking about. "I dropped them off at a spaceport."

"You think I'm that stupid?" Jerik replied, almost wanting to smack this guy across the face with his blaster to knock some sense into him. This man had been trained as a clone _commando_? "Tell me where they are, or else."

"Or else what?" the clone challenged. Jerik heard one of his troopers move behind him to cover him.

"You don't want to know."

"Really?" the clone asked, grinning. "Try me."

That was _it_. He lifted his rifle and went to bring it down on this kriffing deserter when, suddenly, somebody grabbed his wrist. Jerik spun around, only to find himself face to face with the two missing allies.

"You call yourself a sergeant?" asked the clone from behind. "Number one rule; always make sure you cover your six." With that, the man in front of him raised a blaster rifle, fired, and Jerik's world turned to black.

* * *

The Stormtrooper's body fell to the ground, his body armor pieces banging against each other like plastic. The Chief looked at the body, but didn't feel any remorse. This man had been about to harm Niner, so the Chief and Arbiter had immediately acted. Niner lowered his hands from his head and sank into his seat.

"Nice job," he said, nodding his head over to the dead Stormtroopers behind the Chief. Turning around, he saw the five or so white armored soldiers laying on the ground, all of their necks broken.

"They didn't even notice we were there," the Chief stated, standing back as Niner climbed out of the speeder.

"We better be careful, though," Niner said, reaching down to pick up a blaster rifle. "There might be some still hiding in the homestead."

"Let me check," said the Arbiter, activating his camouflage. Without waiting for a reply, he crept into the door and out of sight. Not that they could see him very well in the first place, only the faint shimmer of the sunlight refracting as it passed through his armor.

"Well, I guess that works," said Niner, kneeling down to check over some of the Stormtroopers. Reaching into the ammo pack of the sergeant, he pulled out a small disc.

"What is it?" asked the Chief as Niner stood up to his full height and reached into his own pocket to pull out a data pad.

"It looks like a record of his orders," Niner replied, sticking the disc into the data pad and booting the system. "This might give us some of the answers we need, good thing he wasn't smart enough to destroy it." They waited a few moments, the pad reading the message, and then suddenly a transparent, blue image of what looked like to be an Imperial officer appeared on the pad.

"Your orders are to arrest the clone. He has been trained as a Commando and is not to be underestimated. As for his two allies, kill them on sight. The man and alien have been trained in Special Operations and have armies that they can call upon. Report back to me when your task is complete." The image then disappeared and Niner let out a low whistle.

"Too bad they did end up underestimating us," he stated, taking the disc out and stashing it in his pocket. "But it looks like you and the Arbiter have been recognized somehow." As if called, the Arbiter reappeared beside the two of them, his camouflage deactivated.

"The building is clear, no Stormtroopers," the Elite reported, "but I think you need to see what lies on the other side." Confused, they followed him to the opposite end of the dome shaped homestead and stared in shock at what they found.

Two dead bodies, completely burned to the point where only the skeletons were showing. The sand from the landscape stuck to the burnt flesh, as if coating it, and blood soaked the ground below.

The Chief had seen some terrible things, including civilians that had been maimed by the Covenant, but this was one of the worst. The bodies were still smoking, as if this had happened just recently.

"It must be Owen and Beru," Niner said grimly, his face one of disgust and anger.

"Who?" asked the Chief, turning to look at Niner. He was glad of an excuse to turn away.

"Vader's step brother and sister-in-law," he replied, turning away from the bodies and walking back towards the speeder. "They were the ones who adopted Luke after Vader's wife died in child birth."

The Chief's stomach twisted in anger. Vader must be really cruel if he was willing to kill his own step brother to achieve his goal.

"We need to leave," the Chief said, turning to follow Niner. "Once they don't get a report back from this Sergeant, they're going to know something's up."

"I'll call in Kyle for extraction," Niner replied, already reaching for his COM link. "You guys keep a lookout, it might take him several minutes to pick us up." The Chief nodded to show he had heard and took up position by the Arbiter, each watching the different sides of the homestead. While Niner started speaking to Kyle, the Arbiter turned to look at him.

"You realize that someone has recognized us, even with you not wearing your armor," the Arbiter stated, and the Chief knew he was right. The question was, who? Very few people had seen him without his helmet on, and of the people he knew in this universe it was the clones and General Grievous that had only seen his face. For one wild moment he thought of a possibility that Grievous had been rebuilt yet again, then he started thinking logically. The cyborg was dead, Scorch had made sure of that, and they had buried his remains outside the Jecovah base just so the Empire couldn't get their hands on them.

Had one of the captured clones given him away? No, they were commandos , and no amount of torturing would force them to give away their comrades. But if they had been tortured to their breaking point…Even if they had, there hadn't been enough time for them to get the information they needed. The Chief thought back to the battle, to when Grievous had forced him to remove his helmet. Who else had seen him besides Scorch and Ordo? Ordo had been there because he and the Chief had rescued Scorch from Grievous's hands. He kept thinking onward to when the general had died, and what had happened afterwards. Then it finally hit him.

Darth Vader had tried to kill Scorch immediately after the battle. If it hadn't been for the Chief calling out a warning, and for Obi-wan to come and help, Scorch would have been decapitated. If Vader knew that he was here, and realized that he hadn't been killed, he would be sure to make ends meet.

The Chief ran over to Niner, who was still talking to Kyle on the COM link.

"Niner, it was Vader who recognized me," he said, stopping beside him.

Niner, having been distracted, missed the statement, "What?"

"Few people have seen me without my helmet on," the Chief continued, quickly. "Vader was one of them. He's the one who recognized me here, which means that the Empire knows that I'm here."

Understanding dawned on Niner, "Then we've got to go now." He lifted the COM link and urgently spoke to Kyle. "Look, Kyle, change of plans. It doesn't matter if you have to blast your way out of the space port, we need extraction right now." Kyle replied with something the Chief couldn't make out, and Niner said, "Yes, even shooting the guards. We have got to get out of here. Niner out." He stuffed the COM back into his pocket turned towards the Chief.

"What's going on?" the Chief asked, noting that if Kyle had to shoot people to leave, they may be holding him back.

"The manager of the place claims that Kyle didn't pay some fake fine and is keeping him from leaving," Niner said, checking the rifle to make sure it was in working condition. "It's a ridiculous amount, meaning he can't leave until they 'work something out'."

"Meaning until the Stormtroopers arrive," the Arbiter said, understanding.

"Exactly, which is why I'm telling him to get the hell out of there."

The Chief checked his rifle as well, to double check it was in working order, when out of the corner of his eye he saw movement. Glancing up, he saw dust billowing on the horizon, and as it grew closer three vehicles could be seen.

"We've got company," he stated calmly, and the two of them turned to follow the Chief's gaze.

"Fierfek, I didn't think they'd get here so fast," Niner said, taking cover behind the speeder. The Arbiter followed suit while the Chief took position behind the corner that stuck out from the homestead. The three Imperial vehicles steadily grew closer, and the Chief was able to tell that each one seated at least four Stormtroopers. The soldiers fired a few wild shots in their direction, keeping the three of them in cover.

"I really wish I would have kept my armor on," Niner said regretfully, sitting with his back against their speeder and his blaster clasped across his chest. The Chief privately agreed; he felt vulnerable without the layers of protection his MJOLNIR armor had to offer. But, wishing for something wasn't going to help as he kept an eye on how close the Stormtroopers were getting.

The Speeders approached rapidly, sending up dust clouds in their wake. Soon two of the Speeders were within firing range, sliding to a halt and turning with the sides facing the three soldiers, providing cover for the exiting Stormtroopers. The Chief took a couple shots around the corner, managing to hit one the of troopers in the air. He could hear the faint cry of pain as the white armored soldier fell back against his squad mate, trying to get help.

A few shots flew over his head, one too close for comfort, and he pulled back again, sitting against the wall. The Arbiter and Niner immediately took his place, firing over their own speeder. Another distant cry let the Chief know that the two of them had been successful. But as he tried to pop his head back up again, more laser shots forced him back into cover. The Arbiter and Niner were in the same position.

"Fierfek, what I would give to have a kriffing grenade right now!" yelled Niner, his voice barely audible over the blaster fire.

The Arbiter poked his head around the side, getting a read on the troopers. "They are moving closer!" he announced. This fight was getting worse and worse, and if Kyle didn't get there soon they'd be overrun.

Blindly firing around the wall, he wondered how much longer they could last when he heard Niner cry a warning to him that he couldn't make out and an armored gauntlet wrapped itself around his neck. This Stormtrooper was crazy if he thought he could take down the Chief with his own brute strength. The Spartan reacted immediately, grabbing the poor troopers arm and throwing him over his shoulder onto the ground. The trooper let out a _huff!_ as he hit, knocking the air out of him. The Chief didn't hesitate in hitting the trooper in the chest with all his might, collapsing his cavity.

Soon after he saw a shadow of another Stormtrooper behind him and the Chief turned, pivoting on one foot and bringing his other leg in a sweep under the second soldier, knocking him over. With a quick blast with the rifle to the head he finished him off, the mans white helmet now melted and burnt black. Checking to make sure no more of them were trying to sneak over, he rejoined the firefight.

"That was a close one, Chief," Niner yelled to him as they both sat in cover. Looking over, the Chief saw him smiling, showing what he said had been a joke. The Chief just nodded in reply and continued firing as well as making sure no one else tried to sneak up behind him. It was then the sound of a ship made itself heard over the sound of the fight, it's engines roaring. The Chief looked up in hope and sure enough, Kyle's ship was coming in over the horizon. It slowed and came to a stop a couple of feet above the ground and deployed the loading ramp.

"Lets go!" yelled Niner, standing up and firing a few shots. The Arbiter was the first to go, running and leaping onto the ramp. The Elite then turned to give the Chief and Niner covering fire. The Chief stood briefly, fired a few blaster shots, then sprinted across the open stretch in between his cover and Niner's speeder. Heat billowed his ankles and shots hit the ground near his feet but he made it behind the vehicle without injury.

"Go!" the Chief yelled to Niner. When he saw the commando hesitate, concerned about the Chief's safety, the Spartan said, "I'll be right behind you! Just turn around and give me some covering fire!" Niner nodded, then proceeded to stand up and sprint towards the loading ramp, taking a flying leap and landing gracefully on the floorboard. Now it was the Chief's turn as he waited for a lull in the blaster fire, then stood up and ran for the second time for safety. With his speed and the Stormtroopers awful aim, he managed to make it to the ramp without injury. Leaping on, he grabbed onto the edge of the doorway to steady himself. As soon as he was onboard, Kyle took off, the ship starting to rise.

That was when the random blaster shot hit right next to his hand. The heat seared his flesh and he was forced to let go, the momentum of the ship knocking him over backwards. There was nothing he could grab onto, rolling backwards and then sliding on his stomach off the end of the ramp. With one last desperate effort he grabbed onto the edge, his body coming to a jarring halt. But his grip was already loosening, there being no purchase for his hands.

"Kyle, slow down!" Niner yelled as loud as he could towards the cockpit, already making his way forward to help the Chief. It was then yet another blaster shot found a target, hitting the Spartan on his upper arm. At the shock of pain, even his augmentations couldn't force him to hold on any longer and he let go, starting to fall. Niner dove forward, head first, and grabbed the Chief's good arm. Even as he did, the Chief still felt himself falling before Niner came to a halt, his entire upper body above his waist hanging off the ramp. Heat billowed all on all sides of them as the Stormtroopers below tried in their last efforts to bring them down, blaster fire flying all around.

"Pull us up!" yelled Niner, and slowly but surely the Chief was being pulled upwards. After a few painstaking moments, the Chief was able to grab the edge and with Niner's help pull himself all the way. Looking over, he saw that the Arbiter had grabbed onto the commando's ankles when he had made the desperate lunge to save the Chief. They both had put their lives on the line to help him, but he couldn't say anything as they all quickly made their was inside and to safety. Niner yelled at Kyle to start flying, and once they were moving he led the Chief to the room they had changed in before, helping him onto one of the seats against the wall. The Chief's arm burned fiercely, but it wasn't unbearable.

"I have to go help Kyle in the cockpit…" Niner began.

"Go ahead, I'll be fine for now," the Chief instantly replied, and Niner nodded and ran out of the room towards the front of the ship. The Arbiter stood a little ways off to the side, staring towards the door where the commando had disappeared.

"Hey Arbiter…" the Chief started, and the Elite turned his yellow eyes on him. "Thanks for helping us out back there. We would've been killed without your help."

The Arbiter just nodded. "We are a team now, Spartan. If we do not work together, we will for sure fall apart." The Chief felt that what he said had a deeper meaning. Was he possibly thinking about the Covenant, falling apart under the Prophet's leadership? Whatever it was, it wasn't important as the Arbiter walked over to stand beside him.

"How is the arm?"

"I've had worse," the Chief replied simply, looking down at the wound. It was completely raw, red flesh showing where the skin had been burnt away. He gritted his teeth as it began burning again, this time more fiercely. It was then the lights in the ship dimmed and the ship gave a lurch, letting them know they had entered hyperspace. The Chief was surprised, he had been expecting to have to fight their way out of Tatooine's atmosphere. Just then both Niner and Kyle appeared from the cockpit, Niner holding gauze and a bottle of something in his hands.

"Bacta, for your wound," he explained, showing him the bottle. "Surely you remember?"

"How could I forget?" the Chief replied, remembering the syringe of Bacta that had saved his life during his fight with Grievous. If it hadn't been for Fixer administering the Bacta into his stomach when he did, the Chief would be dead. Instead, Fixer had given his life to save him, Grievous striking him down right after. He felt a brief pang of grief for the fallen commando as Niner moved forward and knelt beside him.

"Fierfek, that was one lucky shot," he stated, opening the bottle. After dabbing some bacta onto the gauze strip he explained, "Unfortunately, this isn't the kind of bacta that'll heal miraculously. That kind is rare, which is why Boss and his squad only had a select few syringes."

The Chief nodded in reply, gritting his teeth as the bacta stung immensely at first as it was put on the wound, and then the healing began and he breathed a sigh of relief as the pain slowly faded.

"Thanks," the Chief said as Niner started wrapping the bacta soaked gauze around his arm. "What do we do now? The Empire has to know we're searching for the remaining clones."

"I know, which is why we have to call off the search," Niner said grimly, making some final adjustments to the wrap. "As far as I know Darman, Scorch, and Gett are all accounted for, Fi is missing, Sev and Atin are still with Obi-wan, and Boss moves around too much to know _where_ he is." He paused for a moment, standing up and crossing his arms across his chest. "The only place left to go is Yavin four." At the Chief's confused look he added, "the Rebel base. We need to get all our facts straight and find out what's going on. That's going to be the place to go."

* * *

Boss hit the floor of the cell - _hard_. His face smacked into the concrete, jarring his head and making him even more disoriented. After being choked and flung into a wall by Vader, his head felt like it was going to split in half.

Adams and Scorch were instantly at his side, helping him up into a sitting position. Boss couldn't make out their words at first and the cell walls were starting to become a blur. He squeezed his eyes shut and gave his head a small shake. Slowly, but surely, everything was coming back into focus and he could hear what the other two were saying.

"Come on Boss, say something," said Adams, staring into his face with a scared look.

"I'm okay," Boss replied, placing his hand on the Marine's arm as he braced himself to get up. Adams and Scorch each grabbed underneath one of his arms and helped him to his feet. He swayed for a moment, the two of them ready to catch him if he fell, but he got his bearings and stood on his own. Boss saw Scorch wipe his hand on his own pants and realized that the blood was coming from the wound on the back of his head. He walked over to the bench in the back of the cell and sat down, letting out a breath of relief.

"Boss, what happened?" asked Scorch, sitting down next to him. Adams remained standing, leaning against the cell wall.

"Vader happened, that's what," Boss replied, ripping off a strip of cloth off of his pants. He then wrapped it around his forehead and the back of his head, tying it in a knot and covering the wound. It wasn't very sterile, but it would have to do for now. "He wanted something and I didn't have the answer."

"'Didn't have the answer?'" Adams repeated, confused. "What was he asking about?" Boss took another deep breath and launched into the story of what happened in the control room. Their faces switched from horror as they heard about Alderaan to surprise as he told them about the Master Chief and the Arbiter.

"They're _here_?" asked Scorch in amazement. "How?"

"That's exactly what Vader wanted to know from me," Boss replied. "And that's what I didn't know the answer to."

"So how did he know it was them from the screen still?" asked Adams.

"It was a picture of them in a speeder on Tatooine," Boss began, explaining the picture. "There was a clone in the front, Skirata's first son." Boss knew that the Empire could possibly be listening in on their conversation at that moment, so he told them a brief description for them to understand. Niner acted a lot like Skirata did, almost down to the way he talked, which is why Boss called him his "first son". Scorch nodded, knowing immediately who he was talking about but Adams remained confused.

"It was the clone who…" Scorch started, trying to think of something Adams would know. "Who was trapped on _In Amber Clad _with Jusik."

Adams gave a silent _oh_ and Boss continued. "The Chief and Arbiter were sitting in the back, and the Chief didn't have his armor on."

"That makes it even less likely for Vader to recognize him," said Adams. "He's never seen him without his helmet on."

Boss shook his head in disagreement, "In the very last fight, the fight for the Ark, Grievous had sliced his lightsaber across the Chief's face, forcing him to remove his helmet. After Scorch killed Grievous-"

"Yeah, I take full credit for that," Scorch stated, grinning.

"-Vader came in and was able to see his face."

Understanding dawned on both of them. "Right when the _di'kut_ tried to decapitate me," said Scorch.

Boss nodded, "Exactly. Unfortunately, we both realized this at the same time, and Vader wasn't too happy to realize that the Chief was back."

"So what you're telling me," said Adams, "is that one of the most powerful beings in this galaxy knows that the Chief and Arbiter are here. Not only that, but someone who's tried to kill the Chief before?"

"Well, when you look at it _that_ way…" Scorch replied.

"I'm just wondering why Niner was there of all places," Boss stated. "He and Kyle Katarn were supposed to be on that mission."

"Boss," Adams started, "we exactly haven't been kept in the loop lately. Anyways, he was able to get the plans, remember?" Boss just shook his head. Something was happening that he didn't know, and it was frustrating. Not only that, he didn't know whether Sev was in danger or not. He applied more pressure to the back of his head, where he could feel the blood still trickling out. For the umpteenth time he felt completely useless in this cell.

That was when blaster fire erupted outside of the cell doors.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Yeah, I know…another long update. At this point, I have no excuse except for laziness. Hey, it's my senior year, I'm not doing anything. XD But, I hope it was worth the wait, but if not, I always accept constructive criticism.


	6. The Coming Storm

**Author's Note**: Real quick, just want to say this. In a review, if you ask me something about the story or state something, I will be unable to respond unless you're signed in. So please, sign in, if not sign up or at least leave an e-mail if you're expecting a reply. Thanks!

* * *

**The Coming Storm**

Boss immediately stood up once he heard the blaster fire, his heart beating faster. Had someone from the Alliance come to rescue them? No, it couldn't be. They wouldn't waste soldiers on the four of them, even if Leia was one of the group. But then, who could it possibly be?

The firefight didn't last long, only for about twenty seconds. Afterwards, there were the sounds of voices and footsteps echoing among the corridor outside.

"What the hell is going on?" asked Adams, looking at the door as if he could see through it.

"Rescue team?" asked Scorch, echoing Boss's thoughts.

"No, it can't be," Boss replied, walking closer to the door. Cautiously putting his ear against it, he tried to listen to the voices outside. Unfortunately, the door was too thick and he couldn't make out anything that was being said.

"What are they saying?" asked Adams.

Boss shook his head, "Impossible to tell, the door is too thick." The end of his sentence was drowned out by the sudden firefight that broke out right outside their door.

"Fierfek, they're closer!" said Scorch as Boss backed away from the entrance, making sure if something blew it up he wasn't right there to take the brunt of it. The blaster fire continued, and from the sound of it, right outside the door. Sure enough, a few moments later the door slid open to reveal three Stormtroopers with their blaster rifles up and aimed at them. The three prisoners slowly put their hands behind their heads, not wanting to make any sudden moves incase the Stormtroopers were to fire upon them.

"We're moving! Get going!" the lead trooper yelled, brandishing his rifle towards the corridor.

"What's going on?" Scorch asked, his voice barely audible over the gunfire. It was then the same trooper who had spoken instantly brought his weapon into Scorch's gut, causing him to keel over in pain.

"No questions, move it!" the trooper snarled, but Boss didn't plan on listening. Nobody attacked his squad mate, his _brother_, and got away with it. Knowing punching wouldn't do anything he brought up his foot and kicked the Stormtrooper in the chest, sending him flying backwards. The two other troopers instantly moved in, one hitting Boss across the face with the butt of his rifle while the other tried to wrap his weapon around Boss's neck to subdue him.

That was when Adams joined into the scuffle, jumping monkey style onto the Stormtrooper's back that was trying to strangle Boss and wrapped his own arms around the soldier's neck. Now free, Boss recovered from the blow across his face and punched the trooper that was still standing in the neck and then in the stomach, his hand-to-hand combat skills being proven. Scorch had also recovered by then and as the trooper that Boss had kicked to the ground got to his feet, Scorch tackled him to the ground and proceeded to punch him wherever he could reach him. That was when two more Stormtroopers came in and one hit Adams across the face, knocking him off the struggling trooper and to the ground, holding a blaster rifle right to his face. Adams immediately froze, as did Boss and Scorch.

"Make another move and I'll shoot!" the Stormtrooper threatened, and the two commandos reluctantly backed off, holding their hands above their hands. The trooper that Boss had originally kicked, he guessed was the leader, came over and hit his rifle across the side of Boss's face. It hurt, but Boss gritted his teeth and didn't make a sound as he turned back to glare at the trooper.

"Try that again and you'll be ashes on the floor," the trooper threatened, staring Boss down through his visor. He then gestured to the others to cuff the three prisoners and to lead them out of the cell. Here, the noise was nearly deafening with the constant blaster fire and explosions. He tried to see what the Stormtroopers that were stationed outside were firing at, but it was too hard to tell.

"Move! Do you want to get shot?!" the leader yelled again, shoving him in the back. That was when he realized that whoever they were, the troopers didn't want the three of them to see who. Boss, willing to risk it, quickly sidestepped the trooper and looked over his shoulder. He stared in surprise at what he saw until he was shoved away by a trooper.

It was Leia, hiding behind one of the pillars that stuck out from the wall. She had escaped! Who were her rescuers, and why did they come at this time? Once again more questions and no answers, nothing for which he could come to a logical explanation. There was only one thing that he could see. These Stormtroopers were shooting to kill, and they were shooting at Leia. That made enough sense for him to plan his next move.

Shoving the trooper that was escorting him to the side with his shoulder, he took a flying leap and tackled one of the Stormtroopers that was firing to the ground. The attackers, now distracted, gave Leia and the others time to get out of there. Boss knew he could be shot for this, but he didn't care. Leia had the time to get away and that was all that mattered. As the Stormtrooper pushed him off, he rolled onto the ground and for the first time got a clear look at Leia and her rescuers. The two of them locked eyes, hers filled with horror as she saw him at the mercy of the Stormtroopers.

"Get out!" he yelled, shoving another Stormtrooper over with his legs as Boss lay on his back. "Run!" Leia looked at him for a short while longer, then squeezed her eyes shut and grabbed a blaster that belonged to the person beside her. She fired, not at the Stormtroopers, but at a vent in the nearby wall. With that, she gave Boss one last look, then turned and launched herself into the vent. Her other rescuers followed, and Boss had the chance to see them. He had no idea who any of them were, especially since two of them were dressed up as Stormtroopers, that was until he saw the last one step out. Despite the fact that he didn't have any armor on and it had been nineteen years since he had last seen him, he would always recognize his pod brother.

It was Sev.

Sev paused for a moment and looked over at the group of Stormtroopers and that's when he saw Boss. His eyes opened wide in amazement, staring at his squad leader on the ground fighting off Stormtroopers. While Boss was distracted, a Stormtrooper took the opportunity to kick him across the face. He roared with pain as the armored boot broke his nose and blood spouted all down around his mouth and chin. Another yell was heard, and as Boss opened his eyes he saw Scorch tackle the same Stormtrooper to the ground, giving Boss time to regain himself.

His eyes watering, he sat up and turned to see Sev still standing there. It was then the sniper snapped out of it and took a step towards them, his blaster rifle raised. Somebody behind Sev yelled at him, but he didn't pay them any attention, whoever it was.

"Sev, no, go back!" Boss yelled, desperately willing his squad mate not to put himself in unnecessary danger. Sev was extremely headstrong, and he hoped that his squad mate wasn't too furious not to listen to him, but years of training as a commando made him stop dead as he heard his leader's order.

"I can help you escape!" Sev yelled back, his voice low-pitched and rough as it always has been. It had been so long since Boss had heard him speak.

"No, help Leia, get her out!"

"I can't leave you!"

"Sev, you _di'kut_, get out of here!" Scorch shouted after pushing the Stormtrooper that had tried to attack him away. "There's too many of them, it'd be stupid for you to get captured too!" Sev gritted his teeth and turned away for a moment, fighting with the decision of helping his squad mates or following Boss's order. Finally, after several moments, he turned back and it seemed as if his face collapsed and he looked at the two of them in sadness.

"I'm sorry," he said, and with that he turned and approached the destroyed vent. Boss knew the pain he felt; he had felt it himself on Kashyyyk when he and his team had had to leave Sev behind to continue on with the mission, it was nearly unbearable. With one last glance Sev jumped into the vent, shortly followed by, to Boss's surprise, a Wookiee and another man he didn't know. After they had all escaped, two Stormtroopers grabbed Boss roughly by the arms and hauled him to his feet.

"I should kill you for what you did!" The lead Stormtrooper had made his way over to Boss. The commando merely smiled at him, blood dripping off his lips, and that gained him a blow to the stomach.

"Take them away, and if I hear they escape I'll shoot every single one of you!" It was obvious the trooper was furious, but also there was a small tone of fright in his voice. Boss could guess why.

Vader was going to be pissed.

* * *

The Master Chief stood in the back of Kyle's ship, fully armored in his MJOLNIR suit after their escape of Tatooine. The Arbiter was next to him, his arms crossed and anticipating their next move. They were currently flying into Yavin 4's atmosphere, planning to land at the rebel base planet side. Niner and Kyle were in the cockpit, handling the necessary requirements and getting a spot to land. It was when the ship decelerated immensely that the Chief knew that they were landing. Sure enough, a few moments later, there was a soft _thud_ as the ship touched down.

The Chief and Arbiter walked over to the door and waited for Niner and Kyle. The door opened, and the two of them arrived shortly after. Niner nodded at him, and then led the way down the ramp and into the clearing. The Chief took in his surroundings and could see that they had landed on a platform at the edge of the base, which loomed a short distance away. Around the base there was what looked like a forest, the trees thick and leaves shining in the sunlight. If the Chief didn't know better he could have said it was Earth.

Walking behind Niner, he saw soldiers he guessed were Rebels staring at him and the Arbiter. He nearly smiled; not much had changed from his galaxy, with the Marines there constantly staring at him. He didn't look back, just kept walking. As they approached the base a soldier came out to meet them, looking slightly intimidated to be standing before the four of them.

"Niner, correct?" the soldier asked, addressing the commando.

"Yes, that's me," he replied, giving him a nod.

"I'm to escort you to General Dodonna, he wants a debrief of the mission."

Niner nodded again, "Lead the way." The rebel soldier instantly turned and started walking towards the base, leading them through a door and several corridors. The Chief was slightly surprised to see how similar things in here looked to places back in his own universe. He'd thought things would be completely different here, but it was quite the opposite. He saw normal windows and doors, and as they approached the center of the base he saw what looked like gas pipes and other common necessities. It was almost chilling to see all these things so far away from home.

After walking for a couple of minutes they arrived outside of what seemed to be a control room. Niner paused outside and hesitated, then spoke his thoughts.

"Chief, I can handle this debriefing. Why don't you and the Arbiter head back to our quarters? I'll meet you there once we're finished." The Chief's first feeling was suspicion. Was there something Niner wanted to talk about that the Chief couldn't hear? Then he realized he was being over-cautious. Niner wouldn't keep anything from him that was relatively important, or something that would endanger him.

"I'll tell you everything afterwards," Niner promised, seeming to read the Chief's thoughts.

It was then the Chief nodded. "We'll meet you in the barracks." Niner nodded in reply and with Kyle walked into the control room.

"Okay well… I guess I'm leading you to his quarters," the Rebel spoke, clearly confused. He turned and led them down a different hallway, heading a different direction than where they had originally arrived from. It was deeper into the base, the only light coming from the ceiling lights and lamps throughout the corridors. Soon, the Rebel soldier left them at the door.

"Here's his quarters, he'll be back soon," and with that, he quickly hurried away. The Arbiter seemed amused by this.

"Seems as if he thought we would attack him," he stated, his mandibles forming what seemed to be a smile. The Chief just shook his head in response and entered the room. The doors slid open automatically, revealing solid gray surroundings. Several cots were attached to the walls, sitting a foot or so above the ground. Cabinets, tabletops, and closets stood in different places around the room. It was a typical barrack, yet some things seemed unfamiliar to what he was used to. It was a completely different universe after all.

The Chief sat down on a cot, removing his helmet and taking a breath. Despite how he was raised and trained, it wasn't so bad every once in a while to be able to just sit down and rest. The Arbiter on the other hand walked around the room, inspecting everything as if it was completely new to him.

"You know, Spartan," he said, opening one of the cabinets. "These humans here are not much different than your own." The Chief silently agreed; things were starting to be too familiar. Sometimes he almost would forget that he was in an entirely different place, a different universe. He now understood why the clones and everyone else hadn't had much trouble fitting into his universe, it was too much alike.

Dismissing the thought from his mind, he and the Arbiter rested for a short time. It was most likely the most they would get for a while, if things were as bad as they seemed. The two of them waited for nearly a half an hour until Niner entered the room. Kyle was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm sorry about that Chief," Niner said, sitting down on the cot opposite of the Chief and removed his own helmet. Judging by the look on his face, something was bothering him. "There was something I needed to talk to Dodonna about, but I can tell you about it now."

"What is it?" the Chief asked, concerned. What could it possibly be that was this big?

"When flying in, Dodonna sent me an image of something, asking if I knew what it was." Niner paused, taking a deep breath. Then he plunged on, "It was an image of another Halo." At first, the Chief just stared at him. It couldn't be, it just _couldn't_. They left all that behind in the previous war, they had ended that conflict. It was then the Chief remembered what Halsey had told him, how the Forerunners had made the portal instead of the Covenant. It all made sense now. They must have created Halos in this universe as well as in his own. He dreaded the thought of how many there were here, or if there were even more than seven.

"Chief?" Niner asked, who seemed worried. The Spartan shook himself out of it.

"Where did they see it?" he asked.

Niner shook his head, "It was a random set of coordinates, Rebels trying to outrun an Imperial fleet. We've still got the coordinates, it's an unexplored part of space." It was almost déjà vu, the _Pillar of Autumn_ stumbling upon the first Halo after trying to run away from the Covenant.

"Did the Imperials follow them there?" the Arbiter asked, a little urgently. The Chief knew why; the Empire absolutely could not control a Halo. It would end terribly for everyone, any living, breathing being.

"We don't know," Niner said, knowing what would happen if they did. "I told Dodonna what it was capable of, what it could do. He said that if it wasn't for the Imperials breathing down our necks here, he would send ships out to secure it."

"Let us go," the Chief said, standing up. "The Arbiter and I know it better than anybody else."

Niner shook his head. "We'll need all the help we can get here. Dodonna won't let you go. Well, he won't lend you a ship, since you're not under his command." The Chief shook his head in frustration, knowing there was nothing he could do. He was used to working with the UNSC, he trusted them and they trusted his decisions in return. Working with a completely unknown military force that didn't know him wasn't going to get anywhere.

"Niner, you've _got_ to convince him," the Chief said. "Halo is a weapon that the Empire can use against us. It's worse than this Death Star."

"Chief, my hands are tied, I can't do anything," he replied. "Once this whole deal with the Death Star blows over, we can try again." The Chief was about to reply when a voice came in over the speaker, cutting him off.

"Niner, report to Docking Bay 7 immediately." Niner glanced up at the intercom, and then replaced his helmet.

"We'll talk about this later, Chief," he replied. "I'm on your side, but I can't go against my own General." The Chief nodded, understanding. Niner was a soldier; he had to follow command, even if it was frustrating. The Chief lifted up his own helmet and put it on, hearing the small _hiss_ as it latched on. He and the Arbiter then followed Niner out, heading towards the docking bays.

* * *

The ship landed slowly, making sure not to come in too fast. The Master Chief stood watching, along with Niner, the Arbiter, and many Rebel soldiers. Apparently the ship was called the _Millennium Falcon_, and aboard it was Princess Leia. That's all he knew, from what Niner had told him, though it was possible that Boss and Adams were on there as well. It would be good to see them again, as it had been nearly ten years. They didn't know who else was on the ship, which was why they had a small Rebel force out here, just in case.

The ship landed, making a loud _thud_ as it made impact with the ground. The ship itself was somewhat flat and circular, with the front of the circular shape ending in two thick prongs. The outside of it looked like it had been heavily modified. Whoever was the pilot knew their stuff.

It was then the door opened and the landing ramp descended, revealing who was on the ship. First to come out was a man, and an alien that the Chief had never seen before. It was tall, possibly even taller than the Chief himself, and had brown and black fur all over his body like an animal, yet he walked like a human.

"That's a Wookiee," Niner said quietly. "I wouldn't get into a fist fight with one of those." The Chief nodded in reply and then watched as a young man and woman walked off, followed by two different robots, or droids as he knew they were called here. One was tall and gold-plated, while the other looked like a rounded garbage can with legs sticking out the side. The Chief didn't know any of these people, but he guessed Niner did as he removed his helmet and walked forward with Dodonna. Niner gestured at the Chief to follow.

"Leia, it is so good to hear you're safe!" said Dodonna. Leia turned towards him, a smile on her face, but when she saw Niner, the Chief, and the Arbiter standing there, her smile faded.

"It's you," she said in surprise, staring at the Chief. He stared back, completely surprised as well and confused.

"How do you know me?" he asked, taking a step towards her. The Spartan had never seen her before in his life. The only reason he knew her was because of Gett explaining to them that Leia and Luke were Vader's offspring.

"Back on the Death Star, while Vader had Boss and I in the control room, an image of you was received in a message, with you sitting beside him." She pointed at the Arbiter, and then continued on, "Vader recognized you, and interrogated Boss to get information." The Chief stiffened. Boss had been interrogated because of him?

"Where's Boss now?" the Chief asked, wanting to talk to him. He then knew the answer when Leia looked away, sadness filling her eyes.

"We had to leave him behind on the Death Star." The Chief shook his head, knowing the grief that Leia felt now. He stepped back, letting Dodonna lead her and the others away. The three of them hung back outside the ship as everyone else except a few Rebel soldiers re-entered the base.

"We have to get Boss off the Death Star," Niner said quietly. "If we don't, Vader will kill him. If not, he'll be destroyed with it." The Chief couldn't help but feel this was his fault. If he hadn't revealed himself, then Boss wouldn't be in this situation. It was then a voice came out of the ship, making the three of them jump in surprise.

"Mother! I'm home!" They turned in surprise to see three more people, clones, walk down the ramp. After a moment, the Chief recognized them; he was good at it because of his Spartan brothers and sisters.

It was Fi, Atin, and Sev.

Fi had been the one to speak, a big grin on his face. He jumped off the ramp and he and Niner embraced, patting each other on the back.

"Fi, you _di'kut_, what are you doing here?" Niner asked, releasing Fi and stepping back. Atin stepped forward beside Fi and Niner rested his hand on his shoulder in greeting. Sev hung back a little bit.

"I could ask you the same thing," Fi replied, looking directly at the Chief and the Arbiter. "Chief, haven't you done enough fighting?" The Chief removed his helmet and smiled back. He was genuinely happy to see all of them again.

"I figured there's never enough," he replied.

"_Kandosii!_ We'll make a comedian out of you yet," Fi laughed, then turned back to Niner. "Now what the hell has been going on? Everything seems to be going wrong, it looks like, and Darman isn't even here to cause it."

Niner shook his head, "Things have been getting bad, but I was going to ask you the same thing. How about we go inside and get both sides of the story, huh?"

"Sounds good to me," Atin said, "good time to get a rest."

"You've gotten a nineteen year rest, isn't that enough?" Sev stated, speaking for the first time. The statement had been both a joke and Sev being annoyed. The Chief couldn't tell if something was wrong or if it was just Sev being himself. "It's time to get back into the fight."

"Yeah, a good time to stretch the muscles," Atin replied, obviously unfazed by Sev's comment. "Let's go anyways, I want to hear about what's going on." They started walking back towards the base, and the Chief slowed to walk at the back, where Sev was.

"It's good to see you again, Chief," Sev said, then turned to look at him. "It really is, it's been too long."

"I know," the Chief replied, knowing that he had missed everybody here as well. "It's been pretty quiet in my universe since you all left."

"Honestly, not much has happened with me either," Sev admitted, looking straight ahead again. "Atin and I have been stuck at Obi-wan's, and not much happened there." There was something about the way he said it, the tone in his voice, which made the Chief concerned.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, getting right to the point. He didn't like dodging around a topic.

Sev glanced at him, and slowed his walk. The Chief did the same. "It just seems like ever since the Clone Wars ended, and this new war has begun, I can't control anything. Everything is going wrong." He shook his head, "First, I was forced to leave both Boss and Scorch behind on the Death Star-"

The Chief stopped dead. "Scorch was there too?"

Sev stopped as well. "Yeah, both he and Boss were captured. The only reason Leia and the rest of us escaped was because of them. Boss threw himself onto the Stormtroopers that were firing at us, then Scorch followed suit, giving us the time to escape." Sev paused for a moment, and then continued, "I don't know what they're going to do to them, but once I get back on there I'm going to shoot every single trooper, for them, and for Obi-wan."

"Obi-wan?" The Chief asked, confused. He then realized that even though Atin and Sev were here, he wasn't.

"Died," Sev said simply. "He fought Vader as we were trying to get back on the _Falcon_. At first, I really didn't like the guy, but after nineteen years you get to know somebody."

"Okay, I need to get this figured out," the Chief interrupted, confused. All of the people from this universe claimed it's been over nineteen years here since they had left and started over. "It's been nineteen years since you've all left, right?"

"Right. Why?"

The Chief shook his head, "It's only been about nine and a half years for me."

Sev cocked his head, now confused, "Are you serious? That doesn't make any sense-"

"Hey Chief, where'd you and Sev wander off to?" Niner's voice broke in over the COM link. He must have noticed that they weren't following.

"Sorry Niner, just catching up," the Chief replied, then motioned to Sev to walk. "Niner's waiting for us."

As they started walking back to the base, Sev spoke up, "Look, Chief, there's something I want to say… While Boss isn't here, I don't have a squad leader. Back with Obi-wan, I'd listen to his direction, but he's not here now either, and Niner isn't my sergeant." He paused, trying to find the right words, and then continued on, "I'm following you until we do get Boss back. I trust you, I've seen you fight and lead. I also trust that you'll be able to get Boss and Scorch, and Adams if he's there, off of the Death Star, and when you do, I'm coming with you." The Chief felt both honored and slightly moved to have earned his loyalty, especially when the Chief wasn't even in his own universe. He knew his Spartans would follow him into Hell itself if he asked, but Sev and the other clones had no need to listen to his command. It also wasn't a matter of _if_ they would get them off the Death Star, it was just _when_.

Not knowing what to say, he nodded and said, "We'll rescue them." And with that, the two of them entered the base to catch up to Niner.

* * *

Darman awoke, opening his eyes to the white brightness, and at first he froze up and thought he'd been captured after all. It was then he noticed it was the med bay, and remembered everything that had happened. He let out a deep breath and lay back onto his pillow, letting the relief sink in. Looking over to the cot beside him, he saw Etain and his heart rose. So the Chief had kept his word and went back for her. He had fallen into unconsciousness before the Master Chief and Will had returned and hadn't been able to see what happened. Throwing off his sheets, he swung his legs over despite the pain in his ribs and legs and stood up. As he reached for the door, he was cut off by a voice.

"What do you think you're doing?" Turning, he saw what looked to be a nurse standing there, apparently arriving from some sort of back office. "You're too weak to be going anywhere."

Darman, used to med droids, wasn't sure what to do. "I want to see what's going on."

"Not in this state."

"Can I go just for a little bit?" He almost felt like a little kid asking his mom to go outside after dark. It was how the stern nurse was making him feel. "I just want some info about what's going on."

The nurse hesitated, debating about it, then said, "Alright, ten minutes, but no later."

Darman let out a breath, "Thank you." He then quickly left the ward and noticed that a Marine was on guard. Darman nodded at him, and he nodded back.

"Do you know where the Master Chief is?" he asked.

The Marine shook his head. "I didn't even know he was here." Darman decided to try the portal room, maybe he and the others were on guard. Walking down the corridor, he remembered which way to go as he turned down a few hallways. At the end, right outside of the room, he was stopped by a pair of black armored soldiers who he remembered were ODSTs.

"Sorry, can't enter, restricted access," one stated.

"I _came_ from in there. My name's Darman, I think I should probably have access," Darman replied, not believing that these guys were actually stopping him.

"I'm sorry, but those are my orders," the same ODST replied. "Take it up with Sergeant Major Johnson if you have a problem."

"Tell him I'll smack him if he does have a problem." Darman was satisfied with the shocked silence he got in return.

"Sir, I wouldn't mess with Johnson…"

"Stand down, you two!" a voice boomed from inside, and the door opened behind them to reveal the Sergeant himself. "You knuckleheads unable to realize he's allowed inside?"

"We had orders-"

"Think about it!" Johnson snapped back, and then turned to Darman. "Aren't you supposed to be resting?"

Darman shrugged, "Supposed to be, but not wanting to."

Johnson grinned, "Alright, come inside. You've missed quite a bit here." Darman followed him inside, expecting to see the Master Chief and Will, but was surprised to see only Will, and also Commander Gett. He thought that Gett would have been in the med bay with Etain.

"What's going on?" Darman asked.

Will answered, "Soon after you got here and the Chief and I helped Etain and Gett, Niner walked in."

Darman felt both relief and excitement. He hadn't seen his sergeant in a long time. "Is he still here?"

"No, he went back with the Chief and the Arbiter." Darman, now confused, just shook his head.

"You guys are helping us out with our war now, aren't you?" he asked.

"That would be it," Johnson replied, "and save the objections, it's already happening."

"Well, thank you," Darman said, and wondered what else he had missed. About to ask, he was cut off by a sound from the portal, the high-pitched sound that was emitted when somebody was coming through. Everyone took cover and immediately raised their weapons. Darman, with no weapon, went to hide beside Johnson.

"Got something for me?" he asked.

"You shouldn't be fighting," Johnson retorted.

"Well, I'm here now, might as well make myself useful."

Johnson hesitated, and then said, "There's an SMG hanging on my belt. Grab it." Darman looked, saw it, and snatched it to use for himself. The portal continued the noise while nobody moved, but then a black-armored Stormtrooper burst through, holding something. It was some kind of grenade, already armed.

"Get down!" Will yelled, hitting the deck, as did the rest of them. The trooper threw it, then as quickly as he'd come jumped back through. Looking over his cover, Darman saw the grenade bounce a few times, and as it did he saw what kind it was.

"Flash bang! Look-" Too late, the grenade went off and blinded him. He immediately dropped back down to cover, and as he did he heard the portal make the noise again, followed by footsteps and blaster fire.

The battle for the base had begun.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Once again, another long update, and I'm sorry but this time, guess what? I actually have a legitimate excuse! Haha, my older brother had borrowed my flash drive about four and a half months ago, then lost it immediately afterwards. It had this chapter, half way done, on it. It wasn't until about a week ago that I (well, my mom) found it, in the most random ass place ever. Anyways, I am sorry about the wait, and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter!

Also, I did change some minor details pertaining to Episode IV, as some of you may have noticed, when concerning the movie. It's not an exact copy of some events. Just a heads up that yes, I know that some things are not correct.


	7. Awake and Alive

**Awake and Alive**

Darman frantically tried to get his gaze to focus but it was useless, he had taken a full blow from the flash bang. His sight was filled with a bright white glare as he shook his head, trying to reorient himself. Keeping extremely low, he hoped that he was out of range of the Stormtrooper's blaster fire. Darman's frustration was building as he heard several cries of pain and Will shouting orders he couldn't hear over the constant ringing in his ears. Finally, the effects started to wear and he began to be able to pick up clear words.

"Sons of bitches!" Was the first thing he heard, shouted by Johnson directly next to him and firing his weapon. He sounded incredibly pissed off. "Why the _hell_ are they even trying this?!" Darman took one last deep breath and opened his eyes, relieved as he realized his sight was back. Kicking into his commando training, he grabbed the SMG that he had dropped at his side and began returning fire.

"Are you alright?" Johnson asked, yelling over the blaster fire to make himself heard.

"I'm fine, the flash bang's effects are gone!" Darman replied, giving his head one last shake to clear it.

"That's _not_ what I meant!" Oh yes, Darman knew exactly what the Sergeant had meant. His injuries dully throbbed, specifically in his ribs where the broken bones had yet to heal. The adrenaline was coursing through his body; he could easily fight through the pain, but what about afterwards? Ignoring Johnson's last comment, he blind fired a few more bursts with his SMG, not daring to peek his head over the crate he hid behind.

Darman didn't know how the Stormtroopers were keeping this up, or why they were even trying. There was little room to fight in here; a mere thirty feet divided the portal from where the ODSTs had previously set up a barricade. Wanting answers, he waited for a pause in the blaster fire and cautiously raised the top of his head and face over the crate, just making so he could see.

"_Shab_," he muttered, quickly ducking back down in cover. Several Stormtroopers carried riot gear and were hiding behind shields, as well as deployable barriers. These guys were pushing hard to get in here, and if the defenders didn't get reinforcements soon, they were going to get screwed over.

A rocket then flew over their heads and slammed into the wall behind them, flaring brightly before the blast faded. Luckily it had been a miss, but now they had a rocket launcher to worry about and most likely Shock Troopers to go along with it. Adorned in black armor, these troopers could actually make a shot, and much worse. They were several steps above Stormtroopers, but a step below Imperial Commandos. Darman and the others could take them on, but it wouldn't be a pretty fight.

That's when another rocket impacted into Johnson and Darman's cover, blowing it apart. Johnson went flying backwards into the wall, falling in a heap to the ground while Darman wasn't so lucky. The force of the blast sent him out from behind cover, into no man's land between their barricade and the Imperials. Disoriented and having lost his SMG in the explosion, he had no chance of getting out of this. He sat there, waiting for the end…

Yet it didn't come. A gigantic shadow draped across his body and looking up, he stared in amazement as an alien Hunter slowly made its way in front of him followed by a second one. The pair was protecting him from the blaster fire of the Stormtroopers. Completely in shock, he didn't move until he heard Will calling his name. Turning to look over his shoulder, he saw the Spartan gesturing fiercely at him to get behind their barricades. Shaking his head he quickly got up, making sure to stay behind the Hunters, and made his way back over the barricade where he rolled over it and to the ground. It took him a few moments to realize that the room had fallen silent and that the remaining Stormtroopers had retreated back through the portal, unable to counter the fearsome alien duo. A Hunter's roar broke the silence, radiating their strength and temporary victory against the Empire.

"What happened?" asked Will, still watching the portal in case the Stormtroopers came back.

"We were attacked, stuff blew up, and I hit my head," Darman replied bluntly, holding his head in his hands. He did indeed hit his head, and pretty hard as it was throbbing at this point. He was trying to gather his thoughts but was having trouble thinking clearly.

"Are you alright?" Will asked him, genuine concern in his voice as he turned to look at him.

"I will be," Darman mumbled in response. Shaking his head, he stood up and supported himself to settle Will's concern. Yet, his ribs were now on fire, with knife stabbing pains throughout his body every time he tried to move. He fell to one knee as a particularly painful jab lanced through his ribs. He looked up at Will and gave a weak smile, "Might need an ice pack or two."

It was then he fell over and lost consciousness.

* * *

The Master Chief stood at the back with Fi on his left and the Arbiter on his right while the rest of Omega, save Darman, stood past Fi against the wall. Sev didn't come with them, he had remained in the room to 'catch up on some things', though the Chief knew he just needed some time alone. They were in a meeting of sorts, discussing the battle plans of the Death Star and what kind of weaknesses it had. He wasn't quite sure why he was here; it seemed this meeting was for pilots only.

"They're making this seem too easy," Fi said sarcastically as the general of the base, Dodonna, explained to the group of using a hole only two meters wide to destroy the Death Star. Their group all had on their helmets, except for the Arbiter, and were talking amongst themselves

"Maybe you should join them, _ner vod_," said Atin, who was standing on Fi's other side. "You'd make a _great_ pilot."

"I would, wouldn't I?"

"Would you two shut it for a minute?" Niner interrupted, cutting their conversation short. "I'm trying to listen to this." Fi and Atin went silent, though the Chief knew that if they could they would have carried on their conversation. Before this, they had all met up in the barracks that was saved just for them. They had talked for a little while about what had happened after the war had ended and what events had taken place. Shortly after, they had been called to this meeting.

"It's been a minute," Fi said, and the Chief couldn't help but smile. Niner didn't say a word, just continued listening to the meeting.

"What's an X-wing?" the Chief asked as Dodonna further explained the plan involving a full-scale assault of X-wings.

"An X-shaped fighter ship, there are also Y-wings, and A-wings. They're small and agile," Atin replied, pausing for a moment before adding, "Almost like those flying craft the Covenant have, but twice as big."

"A Banshee?" The Chief asked, and Atin nodded in response. He was starting to get the picture now. The Death Star's weakness, a shaft, led straight into the reactor core. If a proton torpedo, which he assumed was a type of missile, was shot down this shaft and into the core, it would cause a chain reaction and destroy the station. It wasn't his kind of mission, and the Chief wasn't going to enjoy standing helplessly on the ground as this group of pilots put their lives on the line for them.

While sorting through his thoughts the meeting had begun to split up, chairs scrapping against the floor and murmuring breaking out as the attendants stood up. The five soldiers in the back remained where they were, though the Chief and the Arbiter were getting odd looks from the Rebel pilots. The two of them seemed to stick out like white on black; it seemed obvious that they weren't from around here despite the fact that apart from the clones only Dodonna knew exactly where they were from.

One kid from the group approached them, and the Chief recognized Luke Skywalker. Niner, after the _Falcon_ had landed, explained who each individual was. The two smugglers he didn't know, but the other two people aboard were Luke and Leia, Vader's children. The Chief still found it hard to believe as Luke approached them. He looked from one commando to another, looking awkward, and the Chief knew why: Luke couldn't pick out Fi among the rest of his squad with their helmets on. Fi seemed to know too as he pulled his helmet off with a smile.

"You'll learn the trade soon enough," Fi stated, holding his helmet under his arm. "We're a lot more different than you think."

"For example," Atin said, "some of us are capable of intelligence."

"And others have a sense of humor," Fi replied, and Luke smiled.

"Is this your entire squad?" Luke asked, and the Chief figured Fi had briefed him on who he was and what his past consisted of, most likely leaving out the part about Vader.

"Not quite," Niner answered this time, removing his helmet with Atin following suit. "We're missing a member."

"Where's he?"

Nobody answered right away, but Fi, knowing Luke, took over. "He's away, getting some much needed attention. Don't you have a ship to fly?"

Luke hesitated, wondering if he'd said something wrong, but a reassuring wink from Fi seemed to settle his nerves. He nodded to them in farewell and followed the rest of the pilots out of the room.

Once the commandos had put on their helmets again the Chief asked, "So that's Vader's son?"

"Strange, isn't it?" Niner stated, as this was the first time he had met the kid as well.

"It's okay, I raised him right," Fi said happily, pushing off from the wall and standing upright.

"That is far from reassuring," Atin replied, but before Fi could make a retort General Dodonna approached them. The Chief hesitated, his instinct screaming at him to salute, but when none of the commandos did so he held himself steady. Yet, he couldn't resist standing straighter.

"Are you the Master Chief?" Dodonna asked, addressing him directly.

"Yes, sir," the Chief replied, and was surprised to see Dodonna offer a hand, which he shook. Most people were nervous about putting their hands into the gauntlet of a man who could pulverize bone. Then again, the general most likely didn't know about his augmentations and what he was capable of as a Spartan. Dodonna then shook hands with the Arbiter, as well as Fi and Atin whom he hadn't had the chance to meet previously.

"Now, as I'm sure you've figured out, you won't be joining the pilots in the main assault," he began, and the Chief recognized the introduction to a briefing of a mission. Good, he wouldn't be entirely useless after all. "Instead, you'll be protecting the ground base from any potential assaults that the Empire may attempt. We don't know of their plans for sure, but from what I can tell you'll be the best at fighting a battle down here rather than up there. Now, before we go into details, I do need to address one issue." He then turned to speak with the Chief and the Arbiter.

"You are the ones who know of this so called 'Halo', correct?"

"Yes, sir," the Chief replied, glad that this man wasn't leaving this topic un-discussed. "As Niner may have told you, it possesses a serious threat to this galaxy."

"And how is this here when it was originally in your universe?"

"That isn't something I know, but I do know that there were seven Halos created to wipe out all sentient life to prevent the Flood from spreading."

Dodonna for a few moments looked stunned at this information, but seemed to regain composure as he asked, "What is this Flood?"

"An alien form, capable of imbedding itself into a host's nervous system and taking control. The host, if of sufficient body mass, loses all control while the Flood can retain their memories, meaning they can fire weapons and fly ships. The host supposedly dies after the infection form settles into their body."

"Hey, Chief, I think you should be a bit more descriptive," Fi stated over their COM as Dodonna's eyes widened at the explanation.

"Well that's…that's terrible," Dodonna replied, most likely trying to imagine the horror of it. "The Flood, they are on this Halo?"

"Yes," the Chief said, ignoring Fi's remark. "And if the Empire gets there first, they could use the Halo against us."

Dodonna remained silent for a short while, thinking to himself, and then finally spoke out. "I know this Halo is dangerous, but we can't risk sending any units to it until we get rid of this Death Star. If the Empire got there first, they'll most likely have it guarded, and if you were to go alone you'd be immediately destroyed." The Chief, recognizing defeat, nodded in response. He also did agree with the General's point, one ship couldn't take on an Imperial fleet.

"Now, to explain the plan more in depth, this is what I want you to do. The Empire, as it's coming to destroy our base, may send units to ground to attempt to capture some of us. It may seem far-fetched, but it is possible. It is also possible that Imperials may evacuate when we are successful in our attack, and their only option would be to land on this planet." The Chief, as he listened, had an increase in respect for this man. He knew what he was doing, and wasn't about to leave any loose ends undone. The Chief knew he could trust the general. Dodonna turned to Niner to directly address him and said, "Niner, I want you to take your team and patrol the area and keep an eye out for any incoming ships. I'm giving you command, and I trust you to decide among yourselves on who goes where."

"Yes, sir," Niner replied.

"Now, I must oversee the beginnings of the assault. Good luck." With that, Dodonna gave them a nod and walked out of the briefing room, leaving the door open behind him.

"Alright, it'll be just like old times!" said Fi, clapping his hands together. "Except well…" He started counting off on his fingers, "We're _not _making an assault on a Halo, Niner's with us, and hopefully Atin and I don't get our _shebs_ beaten like last time."

"As long as Atin does not fly, I think we will be okay." Silence followed the Arbiter's statement; it had been one of the few things the Elite had said the entire time they had been here, let alone it being a joke. He must have been referring to when Atin and he had been flying the Banshees, trying to stop Tartarus from activating Delta Halo. The Chief nearly laughed out loud at the shock, as none of them had been expecting it. What he suspected as a smile passed over the Arbiter's face. For once, it seemed as if Fi had nothing to say. It didn't last long.

"Arbiter, for that, you're my new best friend." He turned to Atin, "Sorry, you've been replaced since he took the initiative to make fun of you."

"What am I supposed to do, make fun of myself?"

"Why are you asking? It was specifically stated on the contract when you signed."

"Enough," Niner said, heading off Fi before he kept going. He seemed to have overcome his shock as well. "Look, it's time to buckle down, we've got a mission to run and I've got an idea on how we're going to do it…"

* * *

The situation seemed to be getting more and more hopeless. Boss, his nose broken and head split open, sat next to Scorch and Adams in what seemed to be an empty and unused room. They bore wounds as well, Scorch nursing a particularly long gash down his arm, and they seemed to be finally beaten. Boss couldn't help but sympathize: three Stormtroopers stood guard outside and with both Vader and Tarkin on board the Death Star, there was very little hope of escaping. He just wished that Leia, Sev, and the others were able to get away.

Yet, he couldn't give up completely. He knew, deep down, if they didn't get off of this thing they were dead. If Vader didn't kill him beforehand, the rebels may do so on accident if they received the Death Star's layout and put together a plan to destroy it. Leia and Sev knew he and the others were on here, but they weren't worth the time or effort when a gigantic battle station was breathing down their necks.

He looked around the cold, bare, white room, trying to find anything at all to get them out of this place, but nothing showed up. There was nothing in here at all, which was probably why they were shoved in here in the first place. No vents, only one door, and no other possible entrances. The only way out was through the one door and the guards, and that seemed almost as unlikely of an escape as Vader letting them go free. What they needed was a stroke of luck, for something to happen in their favor.

That's when the door opened and in walked five Stormtroopers, all armed. The one in the lead stepped forward, immediately issuing orders.

"Take this one out, Vader wants him alive," he said, gesturing towards Boss. The commando was forced out of the room, a guard on each arm, but the impact of the trooper's words hit him. Vader wanted _him_ alive only. Horrified, he realized what this meant.

The other two were going to be killed.

"No!" he shouted, straining against his guards, but they had him in too tight of a hold.

"You!" the lead trooper said, turning to look towards one of his squad mates that seemed to be shorter than everyone else. When the shorter one turned towards him, the other threw a blaster into his hand. "Finish them off."

"What?" His voice sounded young, almost too young to be involved in this.

"Shoot them."

"Why me?"

"Think of it an induction ceremony," the lead trooper replied with indifference in his voice. "It'll make you a real Stormtrooper. Now hurry up, we've got to get moving." Boss, fear for his team propelling him, took advantage of the kid's hesitation. With all the strength he could muster, he threw the trooper holding his right arm into the wall with such force that he fell to the floor in a heap. The other trooper, now alone in holding Boss back, didn't stand a chance as a rage took over the commando. He grabbed the trooper's arm and twisted it back so far that he heard a sharp _crack_ as the bone snapped. Boss didn't stop as the Stormtrooper screamed, but instead turned and grabbed the trooper's neck, breaking it and ending that skirmish, cutting the scream off short. The other Stormtroopers, mostly caught off guard by this sudden resistance, didn't lift their guns in time to defend themselves as Boss charged.

He crashed into all of them, causing the kid and the leader to stumble while he grabbed onto the third. Boss threw quick, concessive punches. Once to the neck, twice in the stomach, and an uppercut to the jaw. The Trooper took a few steps back, meekly throwing up his hands to defend himself, but the commando just grabbed the now abandoned blaster rifle off the floor and fired a shot into his head, killing him instantly. He turned his weapon on the leader, and without hesitation, fired several shots into his chest. With a cry of pain the trooper fell to the ground, faintly holding his chest until he went limp.

Boss, now just faced with the rookie who was lying on the ground on his back, walked over and calmly held the rifle to his head.

"Get up, and I won't kill you," he said, his voice surprisingly neutral as he spoke to the kid. The Stormtrooper himself, having held his hands in front of his face as Boss approached, slowly dropped them and stared at the barrel until Boss's statement made it through his numb brain and he scrambled to his feet, hands in the air. Boss kicked the trooper's weapon away, leaving him completely defenseless.

"Boss…" he heard a voice weakly say and turning slightly he saw both Scorch and Adams staring at him in awe. He saw that it had been Adams who spoke. "Boss, you just kicked the living _shit_ out of them."

"Fierfek, Boss, I've been with you all these years and I've never seen you go that crazy," Scorch added to Adams's statement, shaking his head slowly. Boss saw in his head what they must be seeing; him, standing with blood caked around his face and down the back of his shirt, his knuckles now bleeding slightly from the punches to the hard armor, and standing over the bodies of four different Stormtroopers, holding the last one at gunpoint. Boss hadn't felt this good in years; he finally had control over the situation again.

Turning back to the last trooper he simply replied, "It was necessary."

"Why aren't you killing me?" the kid asked, scared of what this man that had taken on five armed Stormtroopers in hand-to-hand combat and won was going to do to him.

"We need you," Boss replied, "I got an idea from Sev's group." He turned towards his two comrades, "I need you two to put on Stormtrooper armor." They both nodded, moving and crouching down to strip the soldiers' bodies of their armor and weapons.

"And you," he said, nodding towards the rookie. "You're going to lead us first to the room where our armor is, and then to the closest docking bay. We're getting off this station."

* * *

**Author's Note**: I'm alive! …Yeah, it's been a while. In the period of time it's taken me to update, I've finished a semester and a half of college, worked who knows how many hours, wrote other stories, beat ODST four times, won many games of versus in Left 4 Dead 2, prestiged in Modern Warfare 2, beat Mass Effect 2 three times, killed countless innocents in GTA IV, and blown up many people in Team Fortress 2. This is actually from a convo I had with a friend of mine, Don113, a little while ago:

Me: "It's going slowly, but I'm still writing. I'm pretty sure my fans want to slit my throat at this point…"

Don: "Your fans? I'm pretty sure my fans have held a funeral ceremony and eulogized me, considering how long it's been since I went on fanfiction[dot]net."

Though, he DID post his story before I updated mine. Damn you! XD Anyways, I'm sorry (again and again) for making you wait so long. I won't promise that the next update will be quicker, because I really don't know. A month though and summer begins, so we'll see…

As always, thank you so much for reading (and putting up with me), reviews are always appreciated (and inspiring)!


	8. That's No Moon

**That's No Moon…**

Things had gone smoothly so far since Boss had taken out the Stormtrooper execution squad and freed himself as well as Adams and Scorch, but they weren't out yet. Just as he'd ordered, his two companions were now wearing Stormtrooper armor and were following the rookie trooper. Boss himself acted as prisoner, so soldiers and officers passing by didn't realize any difference. To them, it looked as if Adams and Scorch were dead and the original orders were being followed.

"Are we almost there?" Boss asked quietly to the rookie in front of him. He led the way, with Boss following and Adams and Scorch tailing behind. He didn't know if he could fully trust this trooper to get them to the armory. Hell, he could be leading them to Vader's doorstep and they wouldn't know any better. However, this was their only way out, so Boss had to try.

"Almost," the rookie replied, quickly glancing over his shoulder before looking back. He sounded nervous. Because he was scared of what Boss might do, or of the trap he could possibly be leading them into? It was impossible to tell.

His question was answered soon after a few more minutes of walking. He heard Scorch shuffle closer behind him and a voice in his ear.

"He's laying a trap for us in the armory." So the kid was smarter than Boss had thought, though not smart enough to realize that Scorch and Adams would be able to hear his conversation with his superiors as they also had helmets. He must have been broadcasting on an open frequency.

_Di'kut_, Boss thought, already planning on what he would do when they arrived. Both Adams and Scorch were armed, but he didn't have any kind of weapon, unable to hide one in case he was searched anywhere. He would need to get out of their way so they could do their work. Or better yet…

"We're here," the rookie announced, arriving at a door clearly labeled 'ARMORY'. Boss waited patiently as the trooper typed in a pass code, then waited as the door opened. Sure enough, four Stormtroopers stood on the other side of the door, with their weapons raised. Boss didn't hesitate as he grabbed the rookie by holding onto his back plate before he could move and shoved him into the room, right into the opposing group. A couple fell, the others stumbled, but that gave them the time they needed as Boss hurled himself to the side and let his two companions mop them up. Sure enough, as soon as Boss was clear, they both opened fire and neatly picked off the Stormtroopers.

"Well, that was cleaner than I thought it was gonna be," Adams stated, walking over and checking one of the bodies at the door for weapons. "Nice idea with the distraction, Boss."

"Let's just hope our stuff is in here," Boss replied after being helped to his feet by Scorch. His squad mate entered the armory before him, and judging by the excited, "Woo!" he heard, his hopes were true. Sure enough, after walking in, he saw all three of their suits of armor in boxes along the wall.

"Well, they could definitely use some lessons in proper care," Scorch said, walking over to his own armor and seeing the poor condition it was laid out in.

"Doubt that was the first thing on their mind, Scorch," Adams replied, smiling and lifting up his UNSC Marine helmet and putting it on. "Damn, it's good to be back."

"Let's hurry," Boss said, walking over to his own armor. "Someone could have heard the firefight, so we should-" Adams and Scorch didn't get to hear the rest of the order as Boss was cut off by the intercom.

"All personnel, report to your positions. We are arriving upon the Rebel base. We'll be within firing range in thirty minutes." The three of them looked at each other in horror.

It had just become a race against time.

* * *

The hangar was a flurry of activity. Pilots left and right were jogging to their stations, trying to get to their ships, while mechanics weaved among the crowd, making some last minute adjustments. The hangar itself was large so it was able to accommodate all of the X-wings and other fighters while the doors opened up onto a view that would have been great to admire if it wasn't for their current situation.

The Master Chief and company stood in the corner, preparing to start their own separate mission, one that nobody else knew about. They would have two teams: the Chief would lead the Arbiter and Sev while Niner would take over his old squad mates, Fi and Atin. Together the two teams would split the territory around the base between them, keeping an eye out for any kind of Imperial ships or soldiers trying to land and escape the destruction of the Death Star. It was very unlikely, but not impossible that there would be survivors.

"Everyone remember the landscape?" Niner asked, looking from one member to the other.

"Yes, Sarge," Fi answered, slightly exasperated. This was Omega's first time together on a real mission in nineteen years and Niner was taking things very seriously. Too serious, Fi and Atin might say. "And I cleaned my weapon, checked my armor, and ate a big and healthy breakfast."

"Good," Niner replied. "Wouldn't want you whining about an empty stomach while patrolling."

"I think Scorch _let_ himself get captured, just to get away from you," Sev stated, standing with his arms crossed in the corner. He hadn't been too social since the Chief and the others had returned from the meeting. While the Chief could understand what he was going through, he knew that Sev would put everything aside once the mission started.

Fi scoffed at Sev's comment. "Scorch and I were the best comedy duo out there, we were inseparable."

"Yet you let him go out on his own to Mos Eisley," Sev shot back, slightly sharper than it should have been.

Before Fi could come back with a retort, however, Niner stepped between them. "_Udesii_, you two. We haven't even started the mission and you're at each other's throats." He then looked directly at Sev, "What happened to Scorch wasn't Fi's fault. Scorch is a commando, and he's got Boss and Adams. They'll get off the station before we blow it up."

Far from reassuring him, Sev shook his head and said, "Yet we're not putting in any effort to help them." With that, he pushed up from the wall and walked away, heading towards the exit they were taking out of the base. They all watched him go, not saying a word until Niner let out a sigh.

"You'll have your hands full with that one, Chief," he stated.

"He'll be fine," the Chief replied. "Losing brothers is hard." He felt a pang of both grief and shame. It was as if he were already admitting Boss, Scorch, and Adams couldn't make it off the Death Star in time. He couldn't think like that, for Sev's sake.

"Well, let's hope so, because we're heading out in five minutes," Niner said, motioning for the rest of them to follow. They headed in the direction Sev had taken, and sure enough when they arrived he was already waiting for them. He didn't say a word, and neither did Niner. They were soldiers, and knew when it was time to work.

"Alright, Chief, I'm heading to the North side. You take the South." The Chief nodded in reply, tracing the route in his head that he and the commando had plotted on the map. His route would take him through some thick trees and forests; his squad would need to be extra aware. Making note, he gestured to Sev and Arbiter and the two followed him out into the sunlight.

* * *

Stealth was long forgotten as Boss, Scorch, and Adams blasted their way out of the armory and into the corridor. The enemy knew where they were, and the three of them had a short amount of time to get off of the Death Star and back on solid ground. A few more Stormtroopers came around the corner and the trio expertly picked the unaware soldiers off, Scorch and Adams teaming up on one while Boss finished off the other two.

"This way!" Boss called, running to the right and away into the hallway, desperately hoping for some sign or direction that would lead them to the hangar. He had no idea where they were going at this point, just trying to get away from the hostile forces that were trying to kill them. He figured their escape was well known at this point, probably even known by Tarkin and Vader themselves, but Boss was hoping that they would be too busy worrying about destroying the Rebel base than the three escaped prisoners of war.

Several times they ran into small squads of Stormtroopers, but each time they were easily dispatched, partly due to the Imperial's bad aim and the commando's precision. No injuries happened and the three of them continued on, Boss finally finding a way to the hangar thanks to a helpful sign. After getting out of the armory's perimeter, however, things began to heat up. The Stormtrooper squads became bigger, their disparity becoming apparent as some would purposely throw themselves into harms way, trying to stop them. However, the three soldiers showed no mercy as they fought on through wave after wave.

The more they continued, the more Boss's hope began to grow. They were getting out of here, they had a plan, and they had their armor and weapons back. Boss and his old team had been in situations like this before and made it out fine, and with Scorch and Adams at his side he believed they could get through this.

This didn't mean, however, that he was letting his guard down. Around every corner they halted, letting Boss check for an ambush before continuing. It was slower this way, and Boss was half tempted to ditch the whole cautious approach plan to get there faster, but impatience was what got you killed. It didn't matter, even with doing this they were making good time, from the looks of it they were only ten minutes away.

Around the next corner, Boss was able to only poke out his head for a second before having to pull back quickly to avoid the wave of blaster fire that greeted him. There were at least ten of the Stormtroopers, most likely waiting to ambush them. The three soldiers were stuck there, with little room to return fire and no way to go back.

"Any grenades?" Scorch asked, and Boss shook his head. He hadn't been able to find any thermal detonators in the armory, or any other kind of grenade. Most likely they didn't keep them there because they figured they wouldn't need them.

"Blast, we won't be able to take 'em down like this!" Scorch said loudly over the sound of the firefight.

"Wait a second…" Adams stated, searching his pockets for something. Suddenly, he pulled out what looked like a small, dark green fruit that Boss realized was a grenade. "Been saving this," Adams said with a grin. Boss was about to ask him for it when several things happened at once. A flash bang was tossed down their corridor, forcing them to look away and shut their eyes as gunfire started somewhere else in the hallway and Adams gave a cry of pain, falling to the floor.

"Adams!" Boss yelled over the noise, dropping to the ground beside him while Scorch provided covering fire.

"I'm hit!" Adams screamed, holding his leg. Boss looked to the wound and winced, seeing how deep it was. There was no blood as the hole would be cauterized, but the flesh and bone underneath showed through, burnt black.

"_Shab_," Boss swore, getting his blaster rifle and firing back at the Stormtroopers who had flanked them in this corridor. Of course, they had been planning this all along, funneling them down until they could get to a spot to trap them. However, Boss and Scorch weren't going down without a fight as they fought back fiercely, picking off the second Stormtrooper squad. Boss's shields faded and finally depleted, allowing a shot to graze his arm and penetrate his armor. It burned, but it didn't prevent him from stopping as he continued firing.

Soon, all of the Stormtroopers behind them were dead, just leaving the ones down the hallway.

Boss turned to Adams and asked, "Where's that grenade?"

"It-" he gritted his teeth as the pain nearly took over, but controlled himself as he replied, "It fell on the ground!" Boss quickly reached looked around and saw it lying against the wall. He grabbed the grenade, not quite sure how to use it, looking to Adams for guidance. The Marine yelled out, "Push the button and throw!" before he gave another cry of pain. Boss looked and saw the red button, pressed it, and tossed it down the corridor. He heard the blaster fire stop, shouts of surprise and fear right before the explosion. It was _loud_, rocking the hallways and sending debris down toward them. The three of them waited, silent, as the smoke and dust settled. They didn't hear any movement, and as Boss poked his head around the corner he saw a grotesque sight. Bodies lay mutilated, and upon closer examination there were some that were impaled by small bits of shrapnel. The grenade was a deadly one.

"We're clear," he reported, retreating back and bending down to help Adams. "Come on, we've gotta get out of here."

"I…I can't," Adams muttered, unable to support himself. "Just go, I'll stay behind."

"Oh shut up, _di'kut_," Scorch said, walking over. "You're not going to be the hero, suck it up and lets get going." Adams took a few steadying breaths, attempting to gather himself before attempting to stand up.

"You're right, I'm just being a pussy," he said, trying to use the wall to get up. "Johnson would have my ass if he saw me giving up." Boss put his hand under his arm and helped him up, wrapping Adams's arm around his shoulder. Adams gritted his teeth, but didn't say a word as he leaned on Boss for support.

"We'll be within firing range in fifteen minutes," the intercom voice blared again, and Boss realized that it was going to be a close one.

"Scorch, take point!" he ordered, Boss being unable to, as he had to help Adams. Scorch nodded and moved forward, checking the corner for safe measure. This allowed him to see the destruction that was caused by the grenade.

"Fierfek, Adams, you've gotta get some more of those!" he called, picking his way past the debris. Boss and Adams followed, the Marine tried to smile back but it turned into a grimace as his leg attempted to support him but failed.

They continued on, at even a slower pace than before because of Adam's injury. They did make it to the elevator that took them to the same floor as the hangar, but Adams stumbled several times afterward, and finally he fell to his knees.

"Shit, I can't do this," he said, falling on his hands. "I can't."

"Well, you're sure as hell not staying here," Boss replied, and before Adams could protest he picked up the Marine and draped him over his shoulders in a fireman's carry.

"Dammit, Boss!" he exclaimed. "Just leave me!"

"We're almost there!" Boss said as way of getting him to cooperate. It was true, they _were_ almost there, but there were sure to be Stormtroopers guarding the way in a last ditch effort to stop them. "Now shut up and sit tight!" There was no way he was going to leave Adams behind; they had been through a lot in the Human Covenant war, and had been on the same job for the past nineteen years. He was as close to him as any of the rest of Delta, and Boss would rather die than abandon him. Adams didn't resist after that, whether it was from giving in or just being too tired.

"We'll be within firing range in five minutes."

"_Shab_," he muttered, continuing on after Scorch. Just a few more doors and they'd be at the hangar and they could get the hell off of this station. Boss's heart beat quickly; he was unable to use a weapon because of Adams and they had little time left. If they met a large group of Stormtroopers they were doomed.

As if the thought had called them up, the last door opened and no less than ten of the troopers were facing them, their blaster rifles already raised.

"Freeze!" one of them yelled, and the three soldiers stopped in their tracks. This was it, right outside the hangar and a few minutes from freedom and they would be killed. Boss couldn't believe it.

Luck seemed to be on their side, however, as something rocked the Death Star _hard_, sending everybody off balance. Boss, unable to stay on his feet because of the extra weight of Adams, fell to the floor. Scorch, however, held onto a pipe along the wall and stayed upright. Most of the troopers fell to the floor, a few managed to stay on their feet, but all of them stumbled and were distracted. Scorch, seeming to see an opportunity, let out a yell and leaped into the group, firing his blaster rifle at as many of them as he could.

"Scorch!" Boss yelled, trying desperately to find his weapon to help his comrade. Scorch was going crazy, downing five Stormtroopers and knocking a few more over. However, it wasn't enough as one got to his feet and aimed his blaster rifle. Boss finally found his rifle, which had fallen in the blast, and dove for it. Picking it up, he immediately turned towards the fray, just in time to see the trooper shoot Scorch point blank in the back.

"No!" Boss yelled, watching as Scorch fell to the ground. He opened fire as soon as Scorch was clear, downing another four. One more was left, but Boss couldn't aim at him in time before the Stormtrooper opened fire…

That's when a blaster fired behind him, and the last trooper fell to the ground, clearly dead. Boss looked over his shoulder and saw that Adams had grabbed his blaster and fired. He smiled, but that last action seemed to have sapped the last of his energy as his eyes closed and he passed out. Boss quickly got to his feet, unable to check on Adams until he saw Scorch.

_No no no_, he thought, as Scorch still hadn't moved from where he had fallen over. Kneeling down beside him, he turned his squad mate over onto his back, expecting the worst.

Scorch gave a cough and stated, "I ain't dead yet."

Boss closed out his eyes and gave a sigh of relief. He had just been reunited with Scorch, it would be too soon to lose his brother now. After the feeling passed he looked down and replied, "Scorch, you suicidal maniac, I thought you were dead."

"Shields took most of the blow," Scorch answered, leaning forward. "Still hurts like hell, though."

"Can you walk?" Boss asked, standing up and helping the other commando to his feet. "I can only carry one."

"Yeah, I can," Scorch replied, his left arm hanging uselessly at his side. Upon closer inspection, he saw that there was a large black mark on the back of Scorch's left shoulder.

"Come on, we don't have much time," Boss stated, grabbing Adams again and moving into the hangar.

* * *

It was mostly quiet as the Chief led his patrol through the forest, the thick foliage absorbing much of the noise around them. He and Sev moved slowly, trying to keep as quiet as possible as the Arbiter, with his active camouflage, scouted ahead. The Chief hadn't heard any warnings from the Elite and assumed everything was okay.

Sev, on the other hand, hadn't said a word since they had started their patrol. The Chief remembered how much trust Sev had placed in him, and how he had failed to rescue Boss and the others. While the two of them were alone, he figured he'd say something.

"Sev, I'm sorry-" he started.

"Don't," Sev replied almost instantly, as if he were expecting the Chief to say something. "It's not your fault, things just happened faster than I thought." He was quiet for a few moments, then stated, "I just thought we'd have more time." The Chief knew what he meant; the Rebels hadn't expected the Empire to show up so soon; they seemed to have followed the _Millenium Falcon_ directly to this location. If there had been more time, the Chief could have led an assault to rescue their comrades. But that wasn't how things had turned out.

"Niner here." The voice was sudden, cutting into their conversation. The Chief could tell he sounded excited, and could guess what news he had before he continued, "the assault was a success. The Death Star is destroyed." The Chief didn't say anything right away; he knew what this meant for Sev. He laid a hand on the commando's shoulder, hoping he could be semi comforting as Sev became the last member of Delta Squad.

"Wait," Niner said, and the Chief waited breathlessly. "I'm getting a report in… a ship just escaped from the wreckage, and is heading towards your area Chief." The Chief and Sev exchanged a glance through their visors.

"Give me the coordinates."

* * *

"Scorch, strap Adams in!" Boss shouted over his shoulder as he attempted to keep the ship steady. After the final firefight with the Stormtroopers they had hopped onto the only Imperial ship in the hangar, one of the _Lambda_ class shuttles. They had made it off the Death Star, but just barely. The explosion caused by the Rebels' assault had dinged their ship, causing the engines to overheat so now Boss was fighting to keep control. Adams had been set down on the bench, and Scorch was now propping him up and hooking the belts and straps securely around his chest and wait.

"Boss, how bad is the damage?" Scorch asked as he worked.

"Don't know," Boss replied truthfully, unable to full comprehend the readings on the ship. "Bad enough that we're going to have a bumpy landing." He had to get the ship to slow down otherwise when they hit the atmosphere their ship would be disintegrated and all of this would be a waste of time. Boss fought hard, typing in controls and pulling on the yoke. Finally, the ship slowed, but the entrance was still harsh as the ship rocked as if hit by an invisible force. Boss' chair groaned as the impact sent him backwards, but the metal held as Boss leaned forward and fought to get control again.

"We're heading towards the planet!" Boss yelled, still trying to get the ship to go slower. They may have made it through the atmosphere, but they still had the landing. "Hold on!" He pulled with all his might, barely getting the ship to slow down to the speed it needed. If it hadn't been for the trees, they may have ended up crashing after all. The foliage and leaves slowed down their approach enough to when they landed in the clearing they just skidded across the ground, taking a minimum amount of damage.

Boss rocked forward in his seat, the metal underneath finally giving way and sending him face first into the console. His armor took the brunt of the damage, but he struggled to get the chair off of him as he unstrapped himself. Finally after a brief fight with the leather he was able to get out and he pushed the chair off, rolling onto his back. Boss let out a breath as silence descended and he leaned up to check on Scorch and Adams. The two of them were still safely strapped in their seats and okay; as okay as they could be with the injuries they had sustained in this hell of an escape. Scorch gave him a two-fingered mock salute.

"Nice flying, Boss."

* * *

The Chief and Sev ran quickly through the foliage, jumping over logs and bypassing trees as they made their way towards the crash site. If the ship contained any members of the Imperial army, they would need to be obtained immediately. However, the two of them had higher hopes: that Boss, Scorch, and Adams were aboard.

As they ran the Arbiter appeared beside them, his active camo deactivating.

"I heard the news," he stated simply, letting them know he didn't need an explanation. The Chief nodded in response, his pace unwavering as they continued on. It didn't take long, only about five minutes before they got close. The Spartan signaled to his squad to take it slow, just in case of enemies, and they snuck closer, making sure to stay out of sight.

The ship looked like a mess. The wings were all bent out of shape, the nose was crushed after the landing, and the back looked burnt and melted as if it had been caught in the explosion. The three of them took positions around the ship and waited, watching, as the door opened. The landing ramp seemed to descend painfully slow as his team aimed their weapons, waiting for the members to exit. That's when a voice broke the silence.

"We're friendlies!"

"Boss!" Sev yelled, leaping from cover into the clearing before the Chief could stop him. Sure enough, Boss descended from the ship, carrying an unconscious Adams in his arms. Scorch followed him shortly, his left arm dangling at his side as if it were unusable. Seeing who was aboard, the Chief and Arbiter left their cover and followed Sev into the clearing.

"Look at this, Sev is capable of showing compassion," Scorch stated in mock disbelief, raising his arm in a weak greeting.

"Shut up, _di_'_kut_," Sev replied, taking care not to hit him because of his injuries. Instead, he wrapped an arm around his teammate's shoulders, obviously thrilled to see them alive. As the Chief got closer, he saw that all three of the newcomers were injured in one way or another, Adams having a particularly nasty wound on his leg.

"Why am I not surprised?" Boss asked, looking directly at the Chief. The Spartan was especially happy to see Boss alive; the commando and him had been through a lot. Boss was the one who had volunteered to go with him on his suicide mission into the Ark. The Chief hadn't expected to leave alive, and while Boss had known that, he still went purely out of loyalty. The Chief drew two of his fingers across his visor in greeting, one usually reserved for Spartans. It was how they would communicate an emotional outburst that couldn't be communicated through their armor. Boss nodded back, unable to return the greeting because of Adams but understanding what it meant.

"We need to get Adams into the Medical Bay ASAP," Boss stated, looking down at the Marine. After the Chief had spent all his time around the Rebels, it felt strange to see someone donned in UNSC Marine armor, even if it was outdated. "He's stable, but he took a beating on the way out."

"It looks like you all did," Sev said, concern creeping into his tone as he took in their appearance.

"Nothing bed and rest won't fix," Scorch replied, "Now, Sev, carry me back to base."

"I'm not carrying your lazy backside all the way back to base," Sev retorted, dropping his arm back to his side, the concern gone as he turned to walk away.

"I'll lead you there," the Chief stated before the two of them could continue on.

It was good to be back.

* * *

**Author's Note**: The Chief and Boss are back together! I've always enjoyed writing while the two of them are fighting in the same place, they've been favorite characters of mine for a while. Well, hopefully this will get me to write faster… Except for the release of that one game, Halo: Reach. You might have run by it a couple of times, I've heard it's pretty cool.

Well, that and college will be taking up a lot of my time as I'm in my sophomore year. It's crazy that I started this series when I was 13. Time goes by fast… You should read this, and then go back and read some of the early chapters of Halo: RC that I haven't revised yet, talk about making an improvement.

Alright, now I'm just rambling. Again, I thank you guys so much for being so loyal and putting up with me. Reviews are my writing crack, they really do keep me going. I could have given up on this long ago, but you guys always keep me going. Not to mention this story is just fun to write. :) I just want to say this isn't the only story I work on, I have about two others (three now, as I am starting a Mass Effect one), which partially explains the longer updates. Anyways, I'm just making excuses, thanks a ton for reading and I hope to see a review!


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